Amylynn's thINKING spot

More photos of Jacob, taken today.

2011-08-08T20:12:00.000-04:00

Our newest addition!

2011-08-08T19:45:00.002-04:00

Jacob William is here! I think our family is fully complete now. The kids LOVE him so much, he only spends about 4hrs a day not in somebodies arms. He will definatly be a spoiled child.

I just realized

2011-06-21T15:25:00.000-04:00

I forgot to post pics of ethan and micah's b-days last year so here they are

Mother's day 2011

2011-06-21T15:16:00.000-04:00

Maddi's 8th B-day

2011-06-21T15:13:00.000-04:00

Fathers day 2011

2011-06-21T15:11:00.000-04:00

Daddy to 4.5 kids. We have less than 6wks until the baby is due, and then there will be 5. It still amazes me and most days just doesnt seem real. We had another ultrasound last night and it is definatly a boy. Now to find him a name....

prego belly at 33 wks

2011-06-21T13:10:00.000-04:00

Maddi loves laying on the baby belly and letting "Junior" kick her in the head!

Bailey's 13th Birthday

2011-04-06T18:36:00.001-04:00

My boy is officially a teen! He is so excited and I am so bumming... I'm must be old to have a teenager!

St patricks day

2011-04-06T18:33:00.001-04:00

All the kids had fun when we went to Ethans snack day at preschool. They set traps for the leprachaun and drank green...

Baby Paul

2011-04-06T18:29:00.001-04:00

This is my first great-nephew! Isn't he so cute! My children fight over who gets to hold him...a preview of what our new baby will be in for...

my sweet hubby

2010-11-22T21:23:00.000-05:00

day at the dairy farm

2010-10-20T21:27:00.006-04:00

Ethan requested a field trip to the farm last year and we couldnt find one that we could tour. This year this "A day at the Dairy Farm" flyer was found and of we went. The older kids were pleasantly surprised, they didn't think they would like it. However, when we left Scott and I heard a round of "Thank you" from them all. And they talked with excitment about how much they liked it.They got to make "shaker" pudding and butter and even got to pet a one day old calf. It was a beautiful day out too.

svg

2010-10-20T19:53:00.001-04:00

SVG Files – Sure Cuts a Lot

little bambino

2010-10-13T00:35:00.000-04:00

This is what I did tonight...I painted my nieces prego belly for a contest. She could win a years worth of dipers... It was fun and we got to catch up as I dont get to see her much any more cuz she lives 45min away now.

Britt and Joe's wedding

2010-09-30T22:47:00.000-04:00

Finally Britt and Joe's wedding was this last weekend! It went very nicely and everyone seemed to have a great time. I was proud to be her maid of honor but I must admit....I love you Brittany honey, but I did not like my dress! And to boot my hair decided to be difficult.....but the one that really mattered, Brittany, looked beautiful!!!
CONGRATULATIONS BRITT AND JOE! (Ethan's first dance with someone besides me)

our sick baby....

2010-08-23T17:48:00.000-04:00

A day at the fair

2010-08-23T15:50:00.000-04:00

Bailey and I just silly @ the fair

2010-08-23T15:47:00.000-04:00

sissy and I at the fair

2010-08-23T15:42:00.000-04:00

Alligator show at the fair

2010-08-23T15:38:00.001-04:00

The kids LOVED the show. especially when he stuck his hand in the gators mouth! to view any picture on my blog closer just double click the photo.

2010-08-23T15:36:00.000-04:00

My scrapbook page of Erin's graduation won 3rd, I think if I had added an graduation element like a grad cap it would have placed better. And my other last minute thrown together page acutally won 1st place I was shocked! but happy.

All the kids won at least one ribbon

2010-08-23T15:32:00.000-04:00

Ethan got 2nd place for his family painting. Micah recieved 2 honorable mentions for a drawing and a painting. Maddi recieved 2nd place for her mixed art. And Bailey recieved honorable mentions ribbon for his colored pencil drawing. I'm so proud of them!

1st place photo

2010-08-23T15:29:00.000-04:00

Bailey won 1st place for this photo he took of mommy

1st place in the wedding catagory

2010-08-23T15:27:00.000-04:00

one of my scrapbook pages from the fair

2010-08-23T15:25:00.000-04:00

2 ribbons!!! judges delight and first place

engagment photos

2010-08-12T20:45:00.000-04:00

These are photos i took of my niece and future "nephew in-law"(?) for thier engagment photos again I cant believe how time flys, she's almost 20. Yikes I feel old!

Erin and Tyler

2010-08-12T20:32:00.000-04:00

Pictures I took of my niece Erin and nephew Tyler. taking these photos really made me "look" at them and I realize how much they have grown, and how handsome and beautiful adults they have become! I was in awe when I realize they aren't little anymore........

new additions

2010-08-12T20:16:00.000-04:00

our newest additions to the family! Faith (orange and white) and Grace (gray, orange and white) They are so sweet! and yes that is now a total of 5 cats! I have only had 4 people so far call me the cat lady though ;) i dont care I do love kitty cats!

page for my nephew stephens graduation

2010-08-12T20:12:00.000-04:00

Christmas scrapbook page

2010-08-12T20:10:00.000-04:00

my niece

2010-08-12T20:09:00.000-04:00

what kind of spider is this? found out! it is a....

2010-08-12T18:56:00.001-04:00

it is a marbled orb weaver! thanks ShersL84bed for helping me find out!

At Mt. Scott

2010-07-21T14:11:00.000-04:00

Scott and I at newly named Mt. Scott (cuz he fixed the waterfall for the golf course)

Vacation to Indiana

2010-07-10T00:10:00.001-04:00

We had fun! We had never been to Ohio, Michigan or Indiana before. And the kids and I got to meet Grandpa Bill and Grandma Paula in person for the first time. It was a very exciting vacation!

AHHHH Summer!!!

2010-07-09T23:46:00.001-04:00

Yes this is what we have been doing this summer! With weather in the 90's almost every day this last week we have done alot of swimming!

By the way Grandpa Bill and Grandma Paula we have a present for you both it is almost finished and should be in the mail in about a week or so.........Let us know when yoyu get it.

Maddi's first party at Chuck E Cheese

2010-07-09T23:40:00.000-04:00

Happy belated 4th of July!

2010-07-09T23:30:00.000-04:00

Precious

2010-04-16T13:57:00.000-04:00

My precious Maddi at the park. (taken with my awesome new birthday camera...my hubby spoils me!)

one of my favorite things...

2010-03-26T21:35:00.000-04:00

We all agree one of our favorite things about homeschooling is getting to "go to school" in our Pajamas!
Micah was trying to finish his art but Queenie (our kitty) never passes up a chase to be in someones lap......

Homeschooling

2010-03-26T21:32:00.000-04:00

We have 47 school days left of homeschooling. We are so excited! And tommorow starts our 10 days of Easter vacation. We have enjoyed so much about homeschooling, but we are ready for summer to be here. This pic is of Maddi and Micah learning Phonics together. I started teaching Micah with Madeline's Phonics lessons about 2 weeks ago to help Micah with his spelling and reading. The Barton program has help with his reading but I figure every little bit helps. It is more work for both of us but he doesn't complain. And they both like having a "classmate."

50 cent mint box

2010-03-24T15:26:00.001-04:00

I found the tutorial for the roses on u tube sorry I cant rememer from whom.....but it was so easy. These are my first attempts so of course the ones for my nieces wedding will (hopefully) look nicer. And the leaves leave a bit to be desiredtoo...
Anyways back to teaching, we only have phonics left and we will be done for the day.
later!

not up to much...

2010-03-15T19:45:00.002-04:00

Just the same old...the couple feet of snow we had is almost finally gone, and the weather is actually warmer (40s).
The card is Stampin Up!'s stuff. It is a sympathy card for my mother in law whose mother died.
The picture of my mother and I is from a scrapbooking night at church
And the other pic is the kids "school" Valentine's party.

snow fun

2010-01-26T20:07:00.001-05:00

The kids playing in the snow again. They are really loving the snow this year.

snow fun 12x12 frame

2010-01-26T20:06:00.000-05:00

Stampin Up! snowflake die cut.

next years christmas cards

2010-01-26T20:05:00.000-05:00

I've started them and have all year to finish them.....but I'm not doing so good, they are still sitting in the box.

Kids Christmas cards

2010-01-26T20:02:00.000-05:00

I cut the stuff out and each kid got to spend one on one time with mommy putting them together...they stamped them all by themselves. I think they did pretty dang good.

Bailey's pages

2010-01-26T20:00:00.000-05:00

just a couple of pages from Bailey's album.

Micah's 1st yr album page

2010-01-26T19:58:00.000-05:00

This is the opening page of Micah's baby album the little pics go from 1wk to 11months the big pics are from when he was in my belly and his 1st birthday......and now he's 9....time flies.

present from mom

2010-01-26T19:55:00.000-05:00

I put 4 of these together for mom to give to us girls for Christmas. She picked the pictures and paper.

my first stampin up page

2010-01-26T19:53:00.000-05:00

I made this page about 7yrs ago it was my first Stampin Up experience. I was hooked there after.

christmas morning!

2010-01-03T13:16:00.003-05:00

I love thier excitment........this year they just couldnt wait to open presents. I got up a few early to grab a shower but they all got up too....so no shower until like 11am.
I love thier bedhead pictures on Christmas morning in thier Christmas PJ's. Bailey is getting big (11.5 yrs old now) and is a constant reminder that these cute moments will not last forever. He is usually forced to participate in the kid activities (like when we made ornaments and card this year)Makes my heart ache to think of it...
Anyways I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

snow day

2009-12-12T22:21:00.002-05:00

the kids couldnt wait to get out in the snow. The weather has been so wierd that we really hadnt had much snow that stuck around long enough to play in, but now is has stayed so cold its still here! days later. The kids made snow angels had snowball fights, helped clean the van and grandmas car off. And of course ate a few snowflakes. I was really cold out though!

Thanksgiving and Christmas cookies

2009-12-12T21:57:00.004-05:00

It is the normal super busy holiday season. Thanksgiving flew by so fast! And we have loaded our calender with loads of holiday fun things to do. But time is flying by!!! I can't believe its only 13 days until christmas! yikes! In the mix of things my little girl lost her 2 front teeth so now she sings "all I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth" She is so cute. We had Thanksgiving at Ruth's house its close quarters but there isnt any other people I would rather be that close to on Thanksgiving Day anyways. :) The picture of the kids at the table is one of our cookie making day. We made gingerbread cookies for the first time ever. today we made chocolate chip cookies (one of my favorites). The other pic is me and mom at my sister Holly's house for our annual cookie night out. Just me, my sisters mom and any of the older nieces and nephews get together and bake ALOT of cookies. this year My sister Lori wansn't there, but my nephew Tyler decided to join us. And Britt and her boyfriend Joe too. we made PB blossoms, chocochip and I brought 2 different sugar cookie doughs and last but not least oatmeal and oatmeal rasin cookies. Then we split them up to take them home.

just a few catch up pictures

2009-12-12T20:21:00.003-05:00

Pictures of...
We had a Halloween party at home instead of trick or treating, the kids had a blast! They want to do it again next year. Micah and Matt. Ethan had to have a pair of goggles like the other kids for our science projects. PAVCS had a field trip to the pumpkin farm.

Silly boys

2009-10-25T21:20:00.000-04:00

Grandpa's birthday party....the boys were trying to be serious......

2009-10-25T21:18:00.000-04:00

Isn't she a cutie!

hello

2009-10-25T21:07:00.000-04:00

Ethan chillin with Queenie! Still not much creative stuff I did scrap a page for my mom and forgot to take a picture before I gave it to her. Anyways Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!

sorry long time no post

2009-10-09T22:40:00.002-04:00

Things have still been really buisy with school. I will try really hard to get some stuff posted of the kids but sorry no stamping projects..........everything in my stamping room is just collecting dust! can you see my tears? I SO miss the creative release!!!

just some more pictures

2009-09-25T18:36:00.006-04:00

ZOO: A group photo of all of us that went to the Zoo, my kids and me, Mom and dad and my sister Lori's family. And Maddi got her face painted with a butterfly. and another photo of Grandpa and the kids feeding the goats.
MICAH SCHOOL WORK: Micah's wants to be a fireman a chef and a weather man when he grows up....so the science lessons we are currently doing on weather are fun and easy for him. If you ask him something about the weather watch out he is like an encyclopedia......:)
BIKE RIDING: Before 4pm traffic on the road is pretty slow so as long as I can get one other adult out with me I dont mind taking them all bike riding. 2 kids to go before training wheels are another milestone marked off the list of motherhood :()

pics to make up for my lack of posting

2009-09-25T18:14:00.003-04:00

We went to the zoo with Frito Lays grandpa works there, Ethan hitched a ride on cousin Stevie's shoulders. Ethan's 4th birthday breakfast OJ fruit and toast his favorite and his new bike. And Grandpa's birthday party (and some of his goofy grandsons) just wanted to let ya know what we've been up to........besides school work! Hopefully things will get easier with schooling quickly cuz I am just about burnt out.

A Bailey sandwich?

2009-09-04T23:57:00.000-04:00

They LOVE thier big brother....of course he does tend to baby them!
Homeschooling is going Okay. We are all adjusting....I have some pics but just havent downloaded them yet...I will get to that...soon. Ethans b-day is tommorow so I will have pics of that too. later

Lazy summer day

2009-09-04T12:26:00.000-04:00

I love taking photos of all my kids, but Madeline just seems to be a natural. We were at soccer practice, she was just laying ther soaking up the setting sun. So of course I had to snap a pic.

Micah's dino

2009-08-31T13:24:00.002-04:00

here is a close up of Micah's dinosaur that won 2nd place at the fair.

Summers ending :(

2009-08-23T22:22:00.005-04:00

The final days fo summer are always busy....we went to the parade in town Bailey and Micah rode on the float for Aunt Ruth's church. Soccer is in full swing and man has it been HOT! Then there is our local fair that we go to every year and the kids never tire of it. They love everything the rides, animal, shops and of course the fish game. We brought home 3 goldfish this year and they are still alive (rare for fair fish) Daddy gave them money to go down the local pet shop and get more fish now we have 8 total and they bought a bunch of stuff for the tank I should get a picture of the kids with the tank in the morning to post. They are really enjoying it.

WE WON!

2009-08-22T23:08:00.005-04:00

Micah and I were so excited! Micah entered his painted dinosaur and a photo he took of our cousin Reed, his photo took 1st place and the dino took 2nd at the local fair! He squealed with excitment when he saw his first ribbon. It was cute.
I entered a photo of Maddi (and she says she won the first place ribbon too cuz it is a picture of her) 3 scrapbook pages (all won 2nd place in thier catagories, all shown closer in posts below) and 2 scrapbook albums (both won first place) One was the heritage album of my mother I will take pictures of it when I get it back from the fair and the other album is the one of this summer. I already have some pictures of on my blog here. It was fun to enter these and next year all the kids want to enter things in the fair too.

Summer Day scrapbook

2009-08-12T09:17:00.002-04:00

I had fun with this album! If I get it all done (still working on 3 pages that I just seem stuck on) I plan on entering it in the fair. We'll see.

fun scrapbook pages

2009-08-06T15:00:00.002-04:00

before and after scrapbook pages. this was so much fun

My Beautiful Girl

2009-07-28T16:05:00.000-04:00

Tiger Lillies

2009-07-27T17:16:00.002-04:00

It is the last days of my tiger lilies :( I look forward to them every year! I am so sad they are almost gone. I took the kids out in the yard today and took 165 pictures of them and the flowers even a picture of my van......I went a little picture crazy. Ethan who usually hates his picture taken was posing and everything. And we all had some silly moments. It was very fun!

2 more Scrap pages

2009-07-22T22:09:00.002-04:00

These are 2008 pages I thought I would change it up a bit and do a 12x12 album (I usually do 8.5x11 books) chipboard numbers and candle stampset are more stuff from Tina (thanks again) blue paper is from creative memories, the rest is stamping up stuff. I have had a long afternoon.....I spent 3hrs pulling weeds for my sister....it was hot! But the kids had a blast swimming for 3hrs!!!

Just a few projects I've been working on

2009-07-19T23:16:00.002-04:00

I havent really been in my scraproom much just a few minutes here and there (except tonite), but this is what I've been up to. The cards are for when we move... if we ever move! (the house buying thing is driving me NUTS@!) the little blue note card with the bird on it is what slips inside the address card.
The summer scrapbook page is actually Pacific Point, so saffron and tangerine tango, but the picture doesnt look it. Thanks to my fellow SU demo and friend I have some new toys to play with! Thank you thank you Tina! The alphabet set and saffron paper are courtesy of Tina. I also got twinkling H20 from tina and I have been having to much fun playing...my house is now a mess, but I'm a happy momma.

its just life.........

2009-07-14T23:39:00.003-04:00

I have so many pictures of Micah when he was little sleeping in some of the wierdest places and positions. this is one of them and it kind of represents how I feel right now....exhausted.
Life has still been busy....some stuff just normal everyday busy things other things like my mom being in the hospital...not so normal and very stressful!!! She was realeased today and has regained a little bit of her eye sight, but has diabetes and is struggling to keep it under control because of the steriods they are giving her for her eyes.Please pray for my mom, that she regains all her eyes sight and that she can get control of her sugar. And pray for me and my sisters as we all have very busy lifes and problems of our own to deal with...

Aside from that I need to send out a BIG apology to "Grandpa William. In the midst of the chaos of life we forgot to send you out a father's day card.....I did make you one though, I just forgot to mail it. So, can you forgive us?
I know its late but we are going to send it out anyways....

say what?

2009-07-05T17:38:00.000-04:00

The sun kept shinning in Ethan's eyes , but he wanted to sit by Aunt Ruthy so we made a make shift hat. He sat at the table twice as long as the other kids just stuffing his face! When we were done with the picnic and coming in the house He said "I really love these picnic" He is such a cute child.

4th of July picnic

2009-07-05T17:17:00.002-04:00

We were all over the place today! Micah was in the parade with the boy scouts. then we had a picnic at mom's with swimming and plenty of calories burnt on the trampoline too. then we went to the fireworks up at the highschool. we got home at 10:20 and Anna spent the night so they are very tired today (Im gonna see if I can get the pictures off britt, I forgot my camera at the parade and fireworks)It was a nice July 4th....except the clean up that had to be done today....my house got trashed!

we went up to the house again this week too!

2009-06-12T21:32:00.003-04:00

The house inspection was today, but we wont get the results until Monday. Then we need to get estimates for the siding and roof etc... we are getting there slowly but surely. Anticipation is building. It is going to be so much work! But it will be OURS! And that is so exciting!!!

The kids found a bottle cap on the dinning room floor and made a game of kicking it around.....they were bored after about 3 minutes

just some pictures

2009-06-12T18:23:00.003-04:00

We had the punt pass and kick conestest this Sunday, the kids had fun. Maddi got her face painted and didnt want to wash it off!

Bailey quit guitar practice this week, I'm not to thrilled with this fact!

Bailey got lots or awards at the award ceremony this week. He got it for testing high in science, being in the quiz bowl, being a helper for the art teacher all year and for having honor roll all year! He did great and I am proud of him!

Madeline graduated from kindergarten! I can't believe it I only have one more kindergarten graduation to go to! Ethan starts preschool this year...yikes! Were is life going........slow down! Sorry not much crafting things are still pretty buisy. The only things I've made have been for graduations!!!

Maddi's Bowling Birtday party

2009-06-06T21:26:00.003-04:00

She loves the bowling alley...so of course she had to have her birthday here...again. Her "boy" friends from school came, Anthony and David. She definatly had fun. I need to get a picture of her on her new bike she got for her birthday.

Maddi's birthday

2009-05-30T14:34:00.003-04:00

I cant believe my baby girl is 6 yrs old!!! YIKES! I feel old with every bithday.....but I love thier excitment every year its so contagious!

More graduation cards

2009-05-30T14:30:00.001-04:00

Graduation cards

2009-05-30T14:25:00.002-04:00

Just a few graduation cards...some ideas are cased from who knows where...but thanks to the lovely ladies on the web who are an endless inspiration to all us card makers!
Maddi, Anna and Micah loved the owl cards so I helped them make some. I should have taken pictures of them with thier owls.......

Hershey Park even more pictures

2009-05-26T22:29:00.005-04:00

Wheres Bailey in the picture with the hershey kiss? (hiding! He was having a Im to big for this moment.)

I only got one picture of my sister and brother in law....Ruth u mind printing me a better one?

More Hershey pics

2009-05-26T13:11:00.003-04:00

My beautiful children! And mom and dad on the way out of Hershey.

Hershey Park

2009-05-26T12:46:00.005-04:00

sorry I havent posted much spring is so crazy busy around here and unfortunatly sickly too! With allergies and colds it truely seems (and possibly may be) as if at least one of us is always sick!I think i've slept about 9hrs in the last 2 days the baby is sick and we went to Hershey Park yesterday. When we got home at almost 11pm I jumped in the shower (it was above 80 down there) and took the baby to the emergency room. He gets these really bad coughing spells. We went to bed after 2am and then got up and got the kids off to school.....

It was hot but the kids had so much fun! Aunt Ruth, Uncle Matt, Anna, Devin, Grandma and Grandpa went with us too. Daddy didnt come which was a bummer but maybe next time. The kids loved having Anna and Devin to ride with, Micah felt a little left out cuz Devin likes to hang with Bailey, but for the most part it all went well. I cant believe how expensive hershey has gotten though! Ethan LOVED the Reeses xtreme ride its like a little roller coaster and as you ride you have a laser gun and you shoot at these lit up targets, we rode it twice and he would have rode it all day! Maddi wanted to go on the big roller coasters but she obviously isnt big enough!but she liked the scrambler. Bailey on the other had didnt want to go on the coasters but did ride one of the water coasters and got wet (he wasnt thrilled with that) and Micah liked anything that went fast! They were all pretty well behaved and I was proud of them. Me, Grandma and Grandpa were pretty much exhausted by the end of the day...the kids still wanted to ride more rides..........Ps Ethan did NOT like the characters!!!!You can see him strangling me in the picture with the Hershey bar!

Random pictures of the last few weeks

2009-05-15T19:25:00.003-04:00

We had Micah's crossover for boyscouts. He went from wolves to bears, he was so excited! Maddi was excited cuz one of her best friends was there Ryan.

Ethan picked out his own pjs....typical boy.

The other picture is Bailey and Devin at the volleyball tournament. It was nice.

science project

2009-05-15T19:21:00.002-04:00

Micah's science project. He had so much fun making it and maddi recommended the snowman. too cute!

Micah's homeschooled gym class

2009-05-15T19:05:00.005-04:00

It was at our church's gym. There was even a few people there from our church who homeschool thier kids too. I met and talked to a few of the mom's who I had already talked to on the online homeschooling group. It was nice to put faces with the names. Homeschooling is challenging in some ways, but also rewarding. Micah seems (to me at least) to be improving in his reading and his confidence is improving. When he reads pages with more words on it he doesn't get so overwhelmed like before. I bought a reading comprehension book for 2nd grade at the christmas tree shop and he loves it, he was intimidated at first cuz of so many words, but now he does great. And he retains the stories and answers the questions at the end with little to no help. I'm very proud of him. I would like to go see if they have a 3rd grade book to work on over the summer. I really hope I can get him over this hump in reading so when he goes back to school next year he wont have such a hard time. When we finish the last allergy test and one more trip to the DR to see that all other reasons are cleared. I will take him to get the medication for the ADHD. I want him at home while he is trying it so I can make sure it is really helping him. Anyways

Ethan's art project

2009-05-12T16:52:00.004-04:00

We are taking a ceramic art class for Micah's homeschooling Ethan painted the pig blue (his favorite color) and since he slept through todays class I finished his piggy bank for him. Its cute! Micah is painting a dinosaur, but his isnt done yet, we antiqued it today, we should be able to finish it next week, hopefully.

busy

2009-05-06T12:20:00.002-04:00

Well.....I talked to the realestate agent today. She said that it can take up to a month to hear back from them! Ugh! these last 2wks have dragged...I cant imagine another 2 weeks especially if they end up saying NO!
Anyways sorry I havent posted much. Homeschooling has kept me SO busy! I only have a few minutes to post this then Micah needs to get a book read and then I need to get a shower and get the house cleaned up (again) Dishes, laundry and the beds are made and done but I still need to vaccum and sweep (its only been 20 hrs since I did them last but it looks like a week) Anyways I will try to get some cards posted by this weekend. later

My "Son" Shine

2009-04-30T11:00:00.003-04:00

Ethan loves when I sing him this song. He also likes it when I change the word Sunshine to Superhero!
This will replace the winter scrapbook page on my wall that needed to be changed 2 months ago for spring. I figure this could run into summer and not look as out of place as the winter page has looked all spring. All Stampin Up! stamp sets, ink and papaer but the letters are cut with my cricut!

He's doing so good

2009-04-30T10:57:00.002-04:00

Micah is working so hard doing his work! I really dont have time to post Today is crazy buisy but I just wanted to post this and the only project I've had time to do in a week!

My sisters 25th wedding anniversary

2009-04-29T14:37:00.003-04:00

My sister Lori and brother in law Steve renewed their vows at the castle in town last Sat.Then we went to the banquet hall for lunch. It was nice. The boys weren't with me for the ceremony. Bailey and Micah were at the Wii bowling tournament at school (they both won 2nd place in their age catagories) I only got to stay for 1.5 hrs then had to be at the castle (uncle matt watched them) and Ethan was home sick with Scott. So it was just me and Maddi. She loved the castle! Me not so much some of the stairways (ladders) and rooms were very narrow and I'm not thrilled with any small spaces.
Anyways I am now as of Monday a homeschooling mom, well at least to Micah. This is our 3rd day. Micah has a little bit of work left to do but we all needed a break and Ethan needs a nap so here we are! Micah has done fairly well today was the first meltdown...which is good for him. Asperger's is hard. He looks and acts normal for the most part and then bang all of a sudden it rears its "ugly" head. Sometimes I have to remind myself that it is the Aspergers and not my son who is behaving so fiercly. It is still frustrating, because there is no reasoning with him to calm him down only time and space can do that, so patience is very important. And some days I dont have many, by the end of the day I just want to go to bed, not cuz I'm physically tired, but because I am just emotionally spent............I always feel guilty when I complain because I've seen how much worse Autism can be, I am so lucky he doesn't have it more severly, I can talk with him and he responds, I'm lucky to be able to hear my son say I love you and that he hugs me.......I know some mothers who live with out this. I am blessed to have such a unique little boy. I just have to remind myself of these facts sometimes when I dont know what else to do with him. By the way we still haven't heard back about the house, which is definatly taking its toll. As much as I dont want to admit it I'm coming to the conclusion that this means our offer is not going to be accepted....yet another roller coaster of emotions.

Stressed and pics of fishing

2009-04-26T15:51:00.003-04:00

I am stressed....I wanted all the papers ready for monday to go up and take Micah out of school to be homeschooled...life never goes as planned. The school psychologist wouldnt sign the objectives paper (states what you plan to teach the child for the homeschooling year), she said she wasnt sure what the objectives needed to be. According to everyone I've talked to and everything I've read, they just need to be vauge so you have room to adjust depending on how the child is progressing. So I made them vauge. The school guidance counselor took them to Micah special education teacher (who can also sign for the objectives) and I hoped to have them sent home at the end of the day friday with Micah ( who cleaned out his desk as friday was to be his last day) They werent sent home because she says she's not sure either. I feel like they are stalling for some reason. Frustrating. So I have to get up and get to school first thing in the morning to go up there and get this done. I have no idea who to call for leagal advice to make sure I am doing this right. I know other special education teachers some not in our school district that might be willing to sign the objectives but I dont know if the teacher has to be in our district! I cant find a definate answer online and I dont know who to call. I find myself in the same boat as with the IEP and other problems I've had with the school this year, Alone "against" the school with very little knowledge of the laws and the school is still stalling just as they have with everything else this year. I dont know what to do.
As far as the house the listing agent said that this bank usually takes 3-6 days to get back on offers. so we are still waiting! I am trying so hard not to stress about it, but I want the house so much. We have looked for 7yrs and we have only once found a house in our price range that was big enough for all of us and we didn't grab it when we had the chance because it was in worse shape than this house and it needed a new roof and I think it needed a new septic too. I'm afraid if we miss out on this offer it will be another 7yrs until we find something.........that would be devistating. We need a house, mom and dad want to move in here because its one level and they arent getting any younger. So this is the year we have to move and if not here, then where? I'm afraid we will end up with a house that has less square ft than here and a mortgage payment of more than double the rent we pay here! I need to stop thinking about it, Im getting stressed again. Anyways here are some pictures of our fishing trip last Sunday.

Vacation page from Ethan's first year album

2009-04-23T19:52:00.003-04:00

This was our trip to Dorney Park, which the kids absolutly loved! We also went to the crayola factory which was really fun too, they had all sorts of stuff for the kids to do and it wasnt to crowded either. It was a nice little get away right before school started.

Pages from Ethan's 1st year album

2009-04-19T13:55:00.003-04:00

time flies.......for real it only seems like yesterday! I do miss having a baby around in alot of ways, but in some ways it is nice like not having to pack half the house when we leave to go somewhere and finding a place to change a dipar or 3am feedings...those types of things, but man do I miss those tiny little bundles to cuddle and love and those raspberry kisses! I just have to enjoy all the bigger kid things now...Until I get some grandchildren!
Of course I used Stampin Up!'s simply scrappin kits and a AC Moore sticker on the one page.

new research found link between vinyl flooring and autism

2009-04-19T12:24:00.003-04:00

Vinyl Flooring Linked to Autism
U.S. and Swedish researchers have discovered a surprising link between vinyl flooring and autism in children. In the course of researching allergies and indoor air pollutants, scientists discovered infants and toddlers who "lived in bedrooms with vinyl or PVC flooring were twice as likely to develop autism five years later than those with wood or linoleum flooring." The scientists said the connection was "far from conclusive" and recommended further study. Vinyl floors are made with phthalates, a softener for plastics, which may be emitted into the air from normal wear-and-tear. The controversial chemical was banned by Congress for use in children's products in 2008. In all, researchers identified four environmental factors associated with autism: vinyl flooring, the mother's smoking, family economic problems and poor ventilation in the home. For more information about proper home ventilation and healthy indoor air quality, see the BobVila.com article, "Prescription for a Healthy Home."

I found this on bob vila's home blog site here is the link to his
http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Vinyl-Flooring-Linked-to-Autism-3939.html
copy and paste to your browser.

even more pics of the house

2009-04-18T19:54:00.003-04:00

We will remodel one of the bathrooms before we move in and the other one later. The little cubbies in the walls will be finished for storage and little nooks for the kids to play in! they are so excited

more pictures fo the houese

2009-04-18T19:41:00.003-04:00

It has a Huge yard!!!........ I am so excited! I hope it all works out! Pray for us that we are making the right choice and that it all goes well either way.

Our new house?

2009-04-18T19:15:00.004-04:00

Maybe!!! We will be placing an offer on the house on Monday! We have already been priority preapproved. So If the bank accepts and everything goes right we will have a house! Finally after 7yrs of looking! It is 5brm 2ba. 2100sqft, Over 2 acres. in ground pool full basement. It needs some plumbing work (thank heavens I married a plumber) and new carpets and a little patching on the walls and a lot of paint and cleaning to be able to move in. It has been vacant for a yr now so the yard needs mowing and there is some junk in the yard that needs cleaning up. Anyone wanna come help?:P We are going to remodel the kitchen later it is liveable. It is our diamond in the rough! God is awesome!!!

page of Ethan's first year album

2009-04-14T10:48:00.002-04:00

This is the last page of Ethan's first year scrapbook. It is his first hair cut with our long time barber, Mr. Shaw. I used Stampin Up!'s scrapbooking kit (dont remember the name of it)I absolutly love our scrappin kits, they have everything you need and it all cordinates! (which I'm big on)

more of Maddi's album

2009-04-14T10:39:00.001-04:00

Daddy's little girl and our little "Queenie"
Creative Memories paper that someone threw in the garbage at my scrapbooking b-day party. Also my Stampin Up! set I love this new set