Last day of school :)

No more waking up to the alarm clock... packing lunches... driving the kids to and from school then going back to get them 6 hours later... I'm such a happy mom :o) Also a very proud mom... Trevor and Kaylee both made principal's honor roll :o) Again :o) Trevor would've been much more excited if I hadn't taken him away from a Rays game to come pose for a picture LOL :)



So....In my search for inexpensive gifts to send to school I found some cheese graters at the Dollar Tree... I filled them with Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Rolos and Hershey's Kisses and then I altered the grater's label :) They were a big hit :o) (Remember... You can click on any of the pictures to see them better)

These are the ones I made for their teachers...


Here's a side view so you can see the little tupperware part I filled with candy... it's meant to catch whatever you grate with the grater but I like it filled with chocolate :)



And these are the ones I made for the 3 teachers that help Trevor and Kaylee get into my car each and everyday when I pick them up from school :)



I've got to go back to the Dollar Tree and buy a bunch more of these little graters... for a dollar plus some candy they make a pretty cute little gift... the tag for it can go for many different occasions like Hope you have a GRATE Birthday... or... You 2 make a Grate couple - Happy Anniversary... the ideas here are endless LOL :)

Resolutions Renewed and a Layout I Just Finished

Here's what I resolved to do in 2009 :o)

Walk daily
Lose at least 1 pound a week
Create at least one layout per week
Send happy mail to a family member or friend at least once a week
Update my blog at least once a week

I'm ashamed to report that I have not consistently kept up with any of those resolutions but I refuse to give up. Since this is the 1st day of the 2nd half of 2009 I decided it would be the perfect day to renew my resolutions :)
With that said... I'm looking for someone to send happy mail to this week... leave me a comment and I will randomly pick one of them to send a little happy mail to :)


And now... I'd like to share a layout I did for a challenge on scrappingoutloud.blogspot.com The challenge was this...
layer your embellishments... with a bonus if you use the word "together" in the layout and another bonus if you scraplift one of the DT's layouts.

Well...I layered my embellies, used the word together in my title and scraplifted Helen's layout :) And this is the layout I created :)

I finally finished this one...

I did this for a March challenge on Back Porch Memories... the challenge was to use something not traditionally used on a scrapbook page and I used the bottom of Kaylee's red shirt... she outgrew it so I trimmed a piece of the ruffled hem and added it to this layout :)



If any of my scrappy friends are free this weekend, you should join me at backporchmemories.com for their spring fling :) Looks like they're gonna have some fun classes and challenges and they'll be giving away some awesome prizes :) But even better than that... they're a great group of talented scrappers to get to know :)

The Good News and The Bad News

I've been such a bad bad blogger lately (so much for new years resolutions!) I've had some wonderful news to share for a month now and some bad news to share for over 2 weeks now and I'm just getting around to posting it. I know it... bad bad blogger LOL :o) Good thing I don't have many followers to disappoint :o) Those close to me already know the news but I thought I'd blog about it anyways to show pictures :o)
So... do you wanna read the good news or bad news first? Well... since the good news happened first I'll share that 1st. :o) My stepdaughter Heather had her baby!!! :o) Her name is Kaitlyn Violett Quintano and she's absolutely beautiful :o) She was born at 7:20 pm on January 15th and weighed 7lbs 1oz and was 19 inches long :o) Here's the info on her bassinet in the hospital :o)
And here's mother and daughter... both doing great just about 16 hours after birth :) And this is my wonderful husband Ed holding his new granddaughter for the first time :o) He's such a happy and proud grandpa :o)
Isn't she so sweet?!!! :o)



I'll be posting lots more pictures as this beautiful baby girl grows :o)



And now for the bad news...

Trevor broke his elbow :o(



On Friday (Jan 30th) while I was at work... he was at the playground playing with Kaylee and their friends and he climbed up on the outer top part of one of those spiral tube slides and fell off. I took him to the ER when I got home from work and they confirmed that he broke it. Tuesday morning he went to the hospital for surgery on it... the dr. put a pin in it to hold the bone in place so it would heal correctly and then put it in a cast.

Here he is at about 6:30am waiting for them to come prep him for surgery... if you click on the picture you'll see his "are you seriously gonna start taking pictures right now?!!" look :o)




Here's the nurse checking his pulse and bp :o)

And here's she's sticking him with the iv... he was such a trooper for that part :o)

See... that wasn't so bad :o)

They gave him a little buddy :o)



I gave him a kiss and told him I love him and they wheeled him away :o)

And this was when he came out of surgery... a little groggy still :o)





And last but not least...here's a video Ed took on the way home... I laugh everytime I watch it LOL :o) Too cute for words :o)

Meeting Mailo (Day 3 and 4)

Day 3
On Sunday morning I woke up to find this pretty view out of Eddie's upstairs window. We only got about 4 or 5 inches but it still made me smile :o) Till I tried later in the day to make a quick run to the store and realized as I tried to get in the car that I would need to brush off all the snow first lol :o) I wasn't prepared for that and had no gloves or mittens on so it wasn't fun :o)



Anyways... after I said goodmorning to my toothbrush I went into Megans room and this is what I found.... Isn't it so sweet the way they're holding hands? :o) I really want to do a scrapbook page with this picture :o)



After I took that shot, I put the camera away and spent the majority of the day holding Mailo :o) Megan went out for a little while and let me babysit and Mailo was a perfect baby boy for his momsmom (that's what he's gonna call me... Megan made it up lol) :o) When Megan got home I ran out to store for a few groceries and then to Bertucci's to pick up a pizza for our dinner and then we just hung out for the rest of the night... while I of course held Mailo... I love holding him... he's so dang sweet!


Day 4
Monday, I hung out with Megan and Mailo in the morning then went to my Mom and Dad's. I recorded a song with my dad... I think it was called Marshmellow World... Id never heard it before but it was easy enough to pick up. This is my dad in his happy place... where he plays and records music for our family's enjoyment :o) He's so cute!!!


After recording the song with my dad , my parents brought me back to Eddie's so they could visit Mailo too :o) This next picture is them adoring him :o)

Eddie and Danielle adored him too :o) afterall... he is pretty adorable!!! :o)

Then I took a few shots of mailo with his great grandparents :o) This one came out best :o)

After my parents left it was my turn to hold Mailo again... so I put the camera down and stopped taking pictures for the night :o)

Meetiing Mailo ( Day 2)

Saturday morning, I walked into Megans room and found her singing to Mailo... she had this really pretty song on... a Dave Matthews Band song of course :o) And she was just swayin back and forth singing it softly to Mailo and it was just such a sweet sight so I grabbed my camera and started snapping pictures :o)

Ok...in this next picture, she's still singing... but notice the flat tummy... she does NOT look like she just had a baby 10 days ago, does she? LOL Well... she did :o) I guess that's what happens when you take care of yourself when your pregnant LOL :o) I'm so proud of her :o)
Anyways... as she's singing and I'm snappin pictures... it dawned on me that my camera takes videos :o) I took a little video so you could hear one of my new favorite songs. :o) And I was gonna post it next but I can't figure out how to do it so after several attempts I've decided that you'll just have to scroll down to the end of this post to see it :o) K? Thanks :o)

After that photo session was over LOL Megan got Mailo bundled up to go out... we went to the mall so she could pick up her paycheck and then we went to get Aubri (my 18 yr old daughter) and bring her back to Eddie's for the afternoon :o) So these pictures are of him all bundled up... isn't he so adorable!!!

And this next picture I took when we got back... Aubri was in her glory as Mailo slept peacefully on her chest :o) I LOVE this picture :o)

At around 5 pm Eddie and Danielle left to go to a party and it had just started snowing so I snapped a picture of them leaving to show what things looked like before the big storm they said we were about to have... they were predicting 8 - 12 inches and I was so bummed that Trevor and Kaylee weren't there with me to see it and play in it.

And this last picture is one I took at around 11pm... Megan was getting some much needed sleep while I sat in the chair with Mailo... he smelled so good :o) Just like a baby should :o) And as he slept, and I enjoyed my time bonding with him,I could see outside the window that the snow was still falling... it was such a cozy and peaceful feeling. I was in my happy place :o) Well... one of them :o)

And here's the video I was telling you about :o)

Meeting Mailo (Day 1)

Arriving at Tampa International Airport 1/9/08... Notice the green trees, green grass and clear blue sky... ya gotta love Florida in the winter time :o)




As I'm waiting to board the plane to I hear the song Where are you going? by Dave Matthews Band... I couldn't think of a more appropriate song to hear as I'm waiting to see my Megan... who just happens to be Dave's biggest fan. In the past few years she's traveled to Washington, California, Arizona, Colorado, New York, Georgia, Virginia, Florida, Connecticut, Las Vegas and several other states I can't think of right now, just to see his concerts. She's a huge fan! :o)



Getting ready to land at Bradley international Airport In Hartford 3 hours later... notice the snow, and bare brown tree's? Ya gotta love Florida in the winter time :o)



Eddie picked me up at the airport and took me straight to Mailo... isn't he the sweetest!!!!



And here's a closer look at his precious little face :o) I LOVE him :o)



And here's is my Megan and her Mailo :o) She is such an awesome Mommy.. it really really warmed my heart so much to see her taking care of him. My baby has a baby now.



and while Eddie was holding him I just couldn't resist snapping a picture of his tiny little toes :o)




I love how he fell asleep like this... with his arms above his head ... he looks so comfy I think I'm gonna try this position tonight when I go to bed LOL :o)



Of course he didn't stay that way for long once Eddie got near him LOL :o) Eddie really loves his new little nephew... he's gonna be such an awesome uncle :)


after I took this picture my camera went nite nite and I went to visit my parents and my sister Laura... I didn't stay too long though cuz I just couldn't wait to get back to Megan and Mailo.

Stay tuned for more pictures from day 2, 3 , 4 and 5 of my visit.... or don't... I'm not the boss of you LOL but if you want to see more picture check back in a day or 2 :o) I even have a video that I'm going to post that makes me say "awwwwwwwww" everytime I watch it :o) I bet you will too :o)

Not so Happy Holidays

I did this layout today using the sketch at 52sketches52weeks.com for inspiration :o) I think I either need a new camera or I need to learn how to use the one I have cuz it seems like most pictures I take are either blurry or grainey looking this one included... the layout really looks so much better in person :o)

Oh well...
I'm off to fold some clothes and pack my suitcase now... I'm leaving in the morning to go meet my grandson... I'm soooooooooooo excited!!!

I finished this layout today and thought I'd share.

Sorry the picture is a little blurry... it looks so much better in person :o)

It's 2009

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season :o) We did :o)

I spent practically all day yesterday and the day before putting together a movie to showcase our family's year in review but I can't get the dang thing uploaded to my blog... it's so frustrating! So to all those friends and family members who I told to check my blog for it, I want to apoligize and tell you my intentions were good... my skill level at making movies... not so good LOL I think I'll stick with scrapbooking :o)

Did you make any resolutions? I'd love to hear about them :o) Here's what I resolve to do in 2009 :o)

Walk daily
Lose at least 1 pound a week
Create at least one layout per week
Send happy mail to a family member or friend at least once a week
Update my blog at least once a week

And with that being said... I leave you with a great quote I just read at creativescrappers.com

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions. ~Joey Adams

Mailo has arrived

When I got out of work on Monday night I got a call from Eddie telling me that Megan was in labor and went to the hospital... 27 hours and dozens of phone calls later Mailo Kai West made his grand entrance into the world :o)

Megan and Mailo (pronounced My-low) are both doing wonderful. I talked to Megan today an she's a little tired and sore but very happy that he's here now and healthy :o)

Eddie went to visit and took some pictures for me (he's my hero!!!) and I thought I'd share them with all my friends and family... after all, that's what grandmas do, right?!!! :o)

Make a Smilebox postcard

Isn't he just so sweet!!!! I can't wait to hold him :o) January 9th can't come soon enough!!!

Duke

Wow...
I can't believe I haven't posted since Sept 11th... Well, now that the election is over I will no longer be spending all of my time online reading about politics :o) Time to get back to some creative fun and just in time for the holidays too :) I LOVE this time of year :)


Anyways...Here are some pictures I promised to post of our new dog Duke... Heather talked Ed into saving him from the pound :o) I think he's a cross between a St. Bernard and a Great Dane but I'm not sure... some thing I am sure of though is he's big and slobbers all over you if you get near him LOL :) We've had him for about a month now and Kaylee is in her glory... she LOVES animals :) And this one knows it :) He loves the attention he gets when Kaylee is around :)

Charlie bit me... again!

You gotta check this out...just too cute for words LOL :o) Poor little Harry LOL and the way Charlie laughs is just to cute lol :o) The 1st time I watched it I was slightly concerned about poor little Harry but watching it over and over again just made me laugh LOL :o) I know it... I'm sick that way :o( Ed thinks it's so wrong that I love to watch AFV and I laugh when people fall or get hurt but I just can help myself LOL :o)

Anyways... here's the link for the video :o)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM

Pregnancy Album

I made this pregnancy album for my beautiful (both inside and out) daughter Megan
to record all the memories of her pregnancy that I didn't think to record when I was pregnant with her but wish I had. I used paper bags for wine bottles that I found at the checkout line at Publix.
The cashier looked at me a little strange when I asked if I could take a few since I didn't even buy one bottle of wine LOL :o)

This is the front cover...


Page 1 with a line to record her due date...
which is December 31... I can't wait!!!




And page 2 for her to add a picture or a note about her doctor.




Page 3 for recording the day she heard his heartbeat for the first time :)




Page 4 for an ultrasound picture which she actually sent to me cuz she didn't know I was making this for her LOL :o) I surprised her :o)




The file opens to reveal....
It's a boy!!!





Page 6 with a spot to record the day she 1st felt Mailo kick... he's become very active and I'm so excited she gets to feel the joy of that :)

Page 7 for baby names she likes... I did this page before we knew she is having a boy... she's decided to call him Mailo (pronounced my-low) so I guess that's what she'll put here :o)

Page 8 for a picture of her growing belly

Page 9 says I can't see my feet anymore and growing and glowing.

Page 10 for delivery day pictures... which I hope to be there to take myself!!!

And the last page for a picture of her holding him.

These are some tags I stuck in the pockets :o)