back again

Ah, what a week it's been. Ethan came home from school with 102 degree fever last Friday and was sick all weekend. We went to the doctor Monday afternoon where we were informed that it was only a virus and should be just about done. Lovely. While I am very glad that my son is nearly better, it cost me $21.60 to be told what I pretty much already guessed.

Sunday night he felt well enough to soak in the tub. I got him set up with music in the background, toys, and a spa bubble maker, then I crossed the hallway to straighten my scrapbook area. Within a few minutes I heard, "Mom, look!" And this is what I saw:

Chloe in the tub with Ethan! I don't know which one was having more fun!

I've been having some great creative bouts lately. Last night I made a card for a contest. I'm not usually a card maker, so I felt that I needed to do something a little unusual with it. . . so I made it out of burlap! Then this morning, I cranked out a one page layout for another contest. Whoo, I love being productive!

This weekend, I'm heading out for a girls' weekend with some old friends of mine from nursing school. We're headed to San Marcos for the Creating Keepsakes Convention and for a little sight seeing. Looking so forward to it!

ideas

I've been looking at lots of blogs lately and getting lots of ideas for albums. Can't wait to get started- do I start with the "He Said, She Said" or "A Day in My Life" or maybe "All About

Me". . . I just don't know. . .

Here's a recent picture of Chloe. She's such a big part of the family.

Sweet!

The other night, we were invited by some friends to go to an Astros game in a suite. Let me tell you, it was sure sweet! I've been to a few games before, and I always enjoyed them. But this was something else! 12 of us had a room with chairs, tables and our own set of bleachers. The food was phenomonal! We even had an ice cream cart come to our suite and we got to choose what kind of sundae we wanted. Unbelievable! We had so much fun!

Oh, the game was great, too.

Ahh, the sweet days of summer. Phil was watering the yard today, and Ethan decided to have a little fun. . . what is it with little boys having to stick their tushies in the spray?

busy, busy, busy day

Whew! What a busy and productive day! I began the day teaching a class at The Scrapbook Village. We made a vacation journal out of envelopes, graph paper, a map and cardstock. We all had a great time! I truly enjoy teaching. The two pics above are the finished product.

Then I got to help with a make and take. My technique was making a layout out of a paper bag. See photo above. It was quick, easy, and only slightly messy (we used paint).

Once I finished up at the Village, I hurried home to pick my darlings up from my mom's. We ate dinner together and watched a dog superhero movie.

Believe it or not, I then mustered up the strength to clean my house! I swept, mopped, scrubbed the bathrooms, and straightened the kitchen. Yowza!

I just LOVE productive days!

It's hard to believe, but this little boy turned eight today! He's actually been celebrating for the last three days! On Saturday, he invited four close friends to a pool party. They had a blast! Phil had taken the day off from work, so he swam with them.

Then we had my family over to celebrate. We watched baby videos, he opened lots of G.I. Joe stuff, and we ate a dinner of his choosing: chicken sandwiches, corn, and tater tots (okay, the corn was not his idea- I just try to get veggies in them whenever I can). He also requested apple pie instead of cake. I knew my brother and Sammy wouldn't eat pie, so I also made brownies. While Sam and Ethan played with the new toys, the rest of us giggled at the home videos. These boys were such dolls!

Then he got lots of birthday attention yesterday in his Sunday School class. He tried talking me into letting him open a present from us early. I declined.

First thing this morning, after I made his requested birthday breakfast of monkey bread, he was ready to open his gifts. We surprised him by getting a Nintendo DS and a couple of games. Our boys have never had any type of game system, so this went over pretty big. He and Sam took turns with it all day. I told them they could have a day or two of unlimited use, but then we'll have some time limits (I know, I know- veggies with your b-day meal and time limits on video games- what kind of mom am I?!)

Exciting weekend

Well, this was an exciting weekend! On Saturday, I helped with a Technique Make and Take at the Scrapbook Village. I was showing some ladies some tips for using transparencies when my phone rang. Usually when I'm busy, I don't answer my phone. This time I did, thank Heavens. It was a very nervous Phil calling me to tell me that he was taking Ethan to the ER with a hole in his head. Apparently he had been sitting on a gate which opened (go figure) and caused him to fall on the cement sidewalk. (Later Ethan informed me that he had climbed onto the garbage can to get onto the gate to use a broom handle to pound a pipe that was on the roof.)

By the time I got to the ER, his head was already bandaged after getting 3 staples. He was most impressed by his hospital bracelet. He said, "Look, Mom, they called me ED." I said, "That stands for Emergency Department." Oh.

By this morning, the dressing had fallen off. He showed his staples to nearly everyone in church. He was a big hit with all the kids!

My sweet husband is simply the best. He doesn't much care for blood, and because I wasn't home, he had to handle this whole thing by himself. He stopped the gushing coming from Ethan's wound, dropped Sammy off at my mom's, and got Ethan to the ER. Phil rocks.

The boys only have 13 days of school left. Whoo hoo! I am one of those strange moms who actually looks forward to the summer.