BABIES!!!

I finally got the chance to photograph the Bumstead babies. Ooohhhh...I love babies. I could eat them up, and because they are twins, I could have one now, and one later! Just kidding, that's gross. But really, they are so sweet, so adorable. And all the baby talk lately landed me and my mom in Baby and Me today, we were there for probably an hour. The staff probably thought we were nuts, they kept asking if we needed assistance, and they kept asking if we were shopping for a special baby. They did not have cute stuff like that when my kids were babies. If they did, neither kid would have any money for college.
I don't think I need words for the pictures. Just don't blame me if your milk starts to come in.

Ooohhhh...don't you just love them? Yummy! Thanks to Julie, and Max for putting up with me.

Awwww....

Don't you want one?

Monday means...

more baby bear hats. Purple and green to match the swaddling fabric.

trying black fleece background on my backdrop frame. Again, baby bear has agreed to be a model.

trying a shower curtain as a background, Linus did not agree to be a model, but wanted a treat so he sat still for the 1/50th of a second I needed him to.

Sally rolls her eyes as she models the same shower curtain.

Oh, the things dogs will do for treats.

Check it out! I sent a picture of Linus in to the Pioneer Woman's contest and it made the cut and now I have to wait and see who wins. Go here.

Ack! I love them!

The brown baby bear hat my mom made me. She's on a roll. She's made 7 hats since I locked her away with her needles and yarn. I'm encouraging her to sell them. But not these ones, these are mine! Emily has put her order in for a grey bear hat, I think Mom needs to do a panda or two.

I should add...

we were in the garage and Sally hates the garage. She hates anything that comes from above and the garage door makes her go nuts. So do the new garbage trucks with their mechanical arm. Hot air balloons, blimps, helium filled balloons, she is afraid of all that stuff.
The shots in the previous post were impromptu ones, and really quite bad, so I photoshopped them, and I think the colour is wonky, and one corner of the sheet is darker than the others. But thank you for your comments. I should have opened the garage door and let the natural light in but I didn't want my neighbour to see us. Really, I didn't want Linus to run across the road to the neighbour's house. He did it once that morning, he doesn't look when he bolts across the road and I worry he'll get hit. He found Rambo's old dog bed at the side of their house, and stood there sniffing it so I was able to grab him and drag him back home. The last time he ran across he ended up in their pond, he didn't smell so good after that.

DIY backdrop frame

I've been seeing some really neat backdrops made of fabric, just regular fabric, nothing fancy. And I found a few inexpensive portable backdrop frames but of course, none of them are available locally. So I did a little googling and found the instructions to make one out of PVC piping for under $30.Yesterday, we picked up the PVC and by 10 am we had made the frame with an additional bar across the middle. It comes apart and can easily be packed up. Super light, super cheap. I quickly tossed my duvet cover over the rack, added a few clamps and my trusty big red dog. And voila...

whippah...

That's the sound of my whip!

I'm shooting the B twins next week. So excited! Julie and I have been looking at cute hats for them. I was moaning about how I wish I knew someone that could knit and my mom pipes up and says she could. Go figure. I knew she'd made a few scarves. So we jumped on her. She took her knitting things up to Grandpa's where she's staying until she can go back to work. I picked up some yarn and a book of cute knit hats and dropped them off for her. I've got my own little Asian sweat shop! She's already made one hat! Here is baby bear modeling it for me. I attached one of Emily's felt flower clips to the hat. I've been looking all over for damask print fabric to use as a backdrop and couldn't find a thing. Yesterday I found this duvet cover and it's exactly what I was looking for! And I like the colour! I made a couple of cards, both using embossing resist.

I did a bit of scrapbooking too, got 3 pages done.

Good thing I did the housework yesterday! All that running around was just about worth missing the Young and the Restless. Tomorrow I will put together my backdrop frame and then look out!

It sounded good.

And Karen Russell addressed me in her blog...ME! I love Karen...Yup, that's me Wheelbarrow Thief.

And the Winner is...

Jenn! Now you won't need to find a pair of mittens for yourself!

Sometimes I don't like being right.

I knew we were not lucky enough to actually have spring yet. I also thought that water-wise, we NEED more snow. And so when Kerry woke me up this morning and said it was snowing, I think I said "Yay!" and went back to sleep. It's not a huge dump, no shovelling required, and it will probably be gone in a few hours, and I'm not planning on driving today so it's all good.

Here's a re-cap of the last week's weather, in pictures of course! And Linus's help. Sally decided she wanted none of this funky weather crap.Feb. 18th. Sunny, warm, maybe 9 degrees. The grass that Linus hasn't pulled up is greenish. We spend a bit more time outside throwing the ball.Feb. 23rd. Fog, frost, -4 degrees. Cold, damp, dismal, but wait, the sun is shining, it's burning off the fog, and it did shine for most of the day! But it was still darn cold.Feb. 24th. Snow, wet, but not as cold, 0 degrees. Makes a great hiding spot for the poop I didn't pick up yesterday, oh, wait, I did, because it was frozen and picking up Poopsicles is what I live to do.

We have this very old, just for decoration wooden ladder that I use in the garden as a trellis, it's leaning against the deck right now. For some reason, this guy had a brain fart and decided this was the way to get up onto the deck. He stood like that for the longest time, trying to figure out what to do. Ah...the life of a SAHM. (It does count, even if they are dogs.)

In other news...Kerry and I have been discussing the sad state of our weights. Slowly rising, causing our clothing to become ill fitting, we have decided to eat better, more fruits and veggies, and to move a bit more with evening walks. Nothing earth shattering, but a step in the right direction. Besides as Kerry put it "We need to get our Disney legs."

RIP Daddy, and I don't mean my DAD.

http://ow.ly/19tG0

We watch Cesar, we wish we could be more like him. Seeing Daddy and Junior help Cesar is always a highlight. I will miss him.

Mitten RAK

That's right. You can own a brand new pair of the Olympic mittens, just add your self as a FOLLOWER, if you are already added, don't worry, you'll be in the draw.

AND leave me a comment telling me your favourite part of the Olympics.

I'll draw a winner on Thursday, Feb. 25th at noon.

Don't forget, it's a 2 part thing, become a FOLLOWER, AND leave a comment!!!

End of the week!

Whew...It's been an emotional roller coaster week, but I think we've seen the end. I hope we have. My mom is home, she seems fine, she can't drive for a week and can't work for 3 weeks. She did have to cancel her trip to Hawaii, and that's sad, but better to be safe than sorry.

We've had unusually warm weather for this time of year. Warm as in 9 degrees, no snow, no rain, not good, but what can you do? We might suffer in the summer for not having the moisture now. But not having to shovel or drive in the snow is so nice.

I hadn't been feeling very photographic lately, and Kerry even mentioned it. I did take the dogs out and we played around with the lighting for a bit. I liked this one, even though it wasn't sharp, but I was trying to get a bit of lens flair, and was trying things with the camera tilted. Today, being dry and a bit overcast but not too cold, we decided to hit the car wash with Shaun. Kerry had been before so it was a huge surprise to Shaun and I. We don't get out much. For $8, you get to pre-soak, wash, and rinse in a warm secluded bay. Much better than getting out the bucket of hot soapy water, and the hose of ice cold water and making a mess in front of the house. Who knew?It's not the ideal place to pull the camera out, it's warm, it's poorly lit, it's damp, and it's just ripe with opportunity to spray someone with a high pressure water gun, but I'm trying to be more photo journalistic, I'm trying to push myself to learn the ins and outs of my camera. The photo above is a tad yellowish because along with poor lighting, and dampness, the carwash also has hideous yellow and blue tarps as back drops, the nerve. I don't know if I mentioned that Shaun bought a brand new 2010 Ford Focus before Christmas. I have never even had a brand new car! He's just 20 and bought his own, so damn proud! I need to get him and his little car out for a photo shoot so I can scrapbook it.

I'd also like to thank my friends, the ones that have tried their hardest to take my mind off the last almost 2 weeks, to keep me occupied in the aisles of Walmart at 11 pm, to keep me fed with their baking, the fat free baking, to keep me busy by meeting me for lunch and paying for it, to keep me looking good by making me have a facial, and to the ones that kept my mom in their thoughts and prayers, thank you so very much!

Tuesday

I didn't get much sleep, I must have been worrying about my mom's 2nd angiogram. This one was uneventful, she did not start bleeding again and the dr. says nothing was found. How frustrating. 3 cat scans, 2 angios, 1 MRI and nothing to tell us why her brain was bleeding and if it will happen again.
My little neighbour, Karla, 'baked' some cookies for us, if you call driving to Costco baking. I found this little sign in the top cookie and did my motherly duty and ate that one so no one else would suffer. And because I had to wait all day before I could see my mom, I did a little card making. Nothing spectacular, I watched the Young and the Restless as I made cards.

I also made deep dish pizzas from scratch for dinner. Delicious. Off to see my mom.

Monday

I'd like to say we have news but we don't. Mom is going to have an ECA, external carotid angiogram. No one seems to know much about it. I'm a bit worried, a lot worried, as the last angiogram resulted in her bleeding more.
Keep your fingers crossed. If all goes well, they may send her home soon. I hope it's with some answers.

Amy nominated me for the Kreativ Blogger award, I'm touched. I haven't felt so creative lately!! Thank you so very much, Amy, I needed some thing to take my mind off things.

The rules are-

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link the person’s blog who nominated you for this award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

5. Nominate 7 Kreative Bloggers.

6. Post a link to the 7 you nominated.

7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated.

7 things about me people find might find interesting-

1. I have had pretty much the same hair style since high school.

2. I watch all Law and Orders.

3. I love to cook and bake. I'm a foodie. My dream kitchen would have an industrial cook top.

4. I don't enjoying planning birthdays, I think I would, then I have to and I don't.

5. I like going to Disneyland. It's the happiest place on earth. It's clean too.

6. I have a super sensitive sense of smell. I can tell if you had onions on your tacos for dinner. I am sensitive to your perfume, fabric softener, lack of deoderant. Some types of mint gum can't be chewed in the car, I get sick. The only perfume I can use is Love Spell by Victoria's Secret. Everything else gives me a headache.

7. I have severe motion sickness. No more rides in limos for me, plane trips mean lots of Gravol. If I'm not sitting in the front seat, I must drive if we are going long distances so that we don't have to stop every 1/2 hour so I can puke and get fresh air.

So I nominate 7 now. Let's see-

1. Kimberly

2. Sue

3. Lisa

4. Angie

5. Rae

6.Lacintha

7. YOU!

No news

Mom was in fairly good spirits considering the circumstance until they told her that she got bumped and her angiogram was postponed. The waiting is getting to her. She, and we, want answers. Will it happen again? Why did it happen? Can it be prevented? Is it hereditary? Will they operate? Was it a stroke? A clot? Did her vomiting cause her to bleed? Did the bleeding cause the vomiting and stomach pain? What if she sneezes? We are hoping that today she gets the angiogram, and someone tells us, the family, something. The dr. seems to come in after we leave, the nurses haven't come in while we are there. They requested she bring a cell phone in so that they don't have to answer questions on the phone.
One good thing, my brother was able to come up and see her. She's pretty happy about that.

That dreaded phone call

My grandpa's 92, he's old, he's ready to go, his legs are giving him grief, he can't bowl. My dad has found a couple lumps in his armpits that he didn't have before. Both are going for tests this week. So when the phone rings in the early hours of the morning, we thought we'd know what it was about. We were wrong. It's my mom. This morning dad took her to emergency with a headache, stomach ache and a bit of vomiting. Her brain is bleeding. She's been there almost 12 hours and this is all we know. She's awake now, she seems fine. And we know nothing else. She sent us home because she just wanted to sleep. Please keep her in your thoughts.

Slo Mo Mojo

I haven't been doing much in my scrap room, other than tidying it up a little. I lost my mojo. This is the layout from January's class. I love my little owl, but can't find the right pictures for the layout.

I used my super cute mini milk carton die and my Big Shot to make these. They are cute but pretty useless for anything other than filling full of candy, like Kisses or cinnamon hearts. I'm practical, and this die was a huge splurge. Now I have to make it work and use it for everything, I'm definately using them at Easter. I'm thinking of things to put in them ... maybe dog treats, Kleenex, allergy pills, Cadbury Mini Eggs, jelly beans, money...

I didn't feel like re-inventing the wheel so I got my Stampin' Success magazine out and pretty much copied a couple of cards. I'm using up a pack of the 6x6 Designer Series Paper, Welcome Neighbour from the Sale-A-Bration mini. I really like it. The little houses on the milk cartons are from the paper pack too.

I also used the paper and punches and dies to make this, right from the Stampin' Success too. It's hanging above our bed in the photo and I forgot to take it down. Kerry was pretty excited when he got home.

Tonight's fight night, it's been awhile since the last one. One of Kerry's co-workers told me that they were discussing fight night and the fact I watch it, they also said that if Kerry and I fought, all bets were on ME. Kerry even said he'd bet on me. I guess I should feel good about this, Kerry said it's because I'm scrappy. Ya, that's me, scrappy!

All of these photos are SOOC with my flash!

Silly Putty

When I have treats in my pocket and camera around my neck, these two are almost like Silly Putty in my warm little hands. Well, Sally is, Linus is like that cold hard chunk of Putty that just won't soften up no matter how hard you try. Today, I taught the dogs about backdrops and props. Sally is sporting a very large flower clip from Fabricland. She doesn't seem to mind. She's sitting in front of a table covered with Amy Butler fabric.

Linus said he's sit, but he was not posing. He didn't even wash his face this morning.

I made this scalloped heart garland this morning, I was feeling all Valentinesy. Sally is posing on my bed on duvet. I found that scrolly white iron thingy at Home Sense a few years ago.

Linus is doing as little as possible for his treat. "Momma, my head's too heavy!"

All photos are SOOC. The last two are *gasp* with my flash! I am trying to learn to love it and with Rae's tips, I think it's possible.

Pants On The Ground - Larry Platt - American Idol [LYRICS]

Watch this and read on...

Pants On The Ground

Emily and Illi were doing their homework last night. They had to find a current event out of the news paper, cut it out, and ask a bunch of questions about the current event. Illi found the article about the 17 yr. old girl that let the contractor in his 50s into her house. She left the room only to come back to find him naked from the waist down. We can imagine what it was he planned on doing. After we discussed the situation, and how serious it was, Illi had a little fun with it, she started singing Pants on the Ground. These two girls are hilarious. The also discussed drugs and the number of kids in their school that do them. I asked specifically what kind of drugs are you talking about, Illi started listing them Pot, and that other green stuff, what's it call? Marijuana! To which my street smart kid says pot is marijuana! Ah...mystery solved!

They also discussed an article on the controversial pro-life ad with a hand holding an aborted fetus. It's very interesting to hear teen aged girls' views on these things. Emily might know the difference between pot and marijuana(there isn't any) but she can't say the word rape, instead she uses nicer words like "an accident".

Sometimes I complain that I'm home all day with dogs that don't really talk to me. I can pretend in silly voices that they do talk but really it's nothing compared to what happens when the kids come home. I'm very thankful to be able to hear their chattering, even it it has confirmed that I don't want 4 kids, I'll keep 2 and send the other 2 home. It means they feel comfortable enough with us to share what is going on in their lives during the time they are away from us.

Smokin'!

We have been watching a lot of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives lately. There's a bunch of great looking BBQ places that they visit, and it got us thinking that we should get the bbq/smoker out and try it. It was a perk from Kerry's work and we had it for about 2 yrs. before giving it to my parents, who kept it for a few months and then gave it back. We pulled it out of the box and got it set up. We picked up 2 racks of baby back ribs, and a pork butt roast. And using the 'magic' cookbook, I rubbed, rested,and smoked us some meaty goodies.

I also made Texas Style BBQ sauce from scratch.It took a while to put the smoker together, but it was worth it!

It's a good thing the smoker had this very accurate thermometer. After 4 hours of smoking the ribs were to-die-for! On the bbq shows we've been watching, namely BBQ Pitmasters, they say that good ribs won't pull away from the bone when you bite them. You should be able to leave a perfect bite mark in the meat. I think these were a bit over cooked, but pretty close to what they say you want in a perfect rib. The pork roast became pulled pork, I made sweet and sour coleslaw and served it along with the bbq sauce, on toasted garlic buns. I might just smoke all my meat from now on.

I did a bit of scrapbooking on Friday. Each layout still needs 'something' but I'm not sure what yet. While we were waiting, Kerry took a picture of me in my Yokohama fleece from the contest I won.