The Nutcracker

Miss M was in the Nutcracker. She was SOOOO cute! I didn't manage to get a photo of her on stage...I was juggling K & the camera & didn't pass K off to Uncle Al in time to get the camera. Oh, well. I got some shots backstage. I love the photos of M & her best friend. I love the way they love each other...so sweet!
We had anticipated leaving at intermission, but the boys were doing great, so we stayed through the entire production. Both boys were so mesmerized by the ballet.

Cinnamon Sticks Boutique

My friend, Canela, is up to it again! She's giving things away! Well, she's having a contest any way. Click on the link in my side bar to check it out!

Miss D

Well, I have gotten several emails asking about Miss D...I've just been feeling frustrated, discouraged & helpless & not feeling like talking about it. Really, she's great. She's just fine. She could be so much worse. She's beautiful & perfect. She had her appt at OHSU. To me, the appt was silly, pointless. They don't have any answers. We have lots of questions. There lies my frustration. They want to wait until D is a yr old for the MRI. Her ped down here would like an MRI down sooner. My sis & I have connected with a Yahoo group for KTS & SWS. Jill has been able to connect with another mom who has a 7yo w/ KTS. Through connecting with another mom...Jill is getting more questions answered. The other mom is recommending that Jill have the MRI done sooner. The MRI will tell whether she has an arteriovenous connection. I am SO GLAD that she has found somebody that has been down the same road. D also had massage therapy this past week. She responded well to treatment & they seemed to be able to get the excess blood out of her ankle/leg. Jill is a massage therapist & the therapist that treated D showed Jill some techniques that Jill will perform as needed. Anyhow, sorry for keeping ya hanging...I'm just depressed & frustrated about it & the lack of help we're getting.....

Sharing another senior....

Kim was so fun! The first two times we tried to get together, we got rained out! We got through all of the obstacles & produced some great images!

OMG!

I feel like a Superstar! So, I was visiting all of my usual blogs today & almost wet my pants!!! MY photos were on there! You have to see here! My all time favorite blogger EVER, posted about ME! I love the frankness of her posts. She is so real when it comes to celebrity info (ok...gossip, but I'm obsessed!) I visit, daily, for updates on the Caylee Anthony case. She has the most up to date information all in one spot. Then, I can decompress by reading celebrity gossip, or seeing some of her great kids/baby finds. Ok...so, I'll come down from my little cloud & go make dinner! Thank you for making my week Maman et bebe! I feel like such a dork about how she found my blog!

Etsy Treasury

I very sweet Etsian included me in their treasury. It may not mean anything to you, if you're not familiar with Etsy, so...go get familiar! :) I was quite flattered!
Etsy link


My print is the "Golden" 20x40 fine art print.

Old Red Barn Give Aways

Oh! I would LOVE to win one of the beautiful quilts that Dana, from

Old Red Barn is giving away!

Prayers Please

Thank you to all who are keeping Miss D in your prayers! She is headed to OHSU tomorrow to be reviewed by a team of docs. She has had swelling in the affected ankle since she was about 4 days old. My sis has started to notice muscle atrophy in the affected leg & buttocks. These are both typical signs for Klippel Trenaunay, but it's unsettling to see everything progress in real life. She is also progressing in the normal, cute ways. Babbling, cooing & interacting more. I talked to my sis tonight & she said that when she (Miss D) feels like she's not gettng enough attention she makes a noise that sounds like she is saying, "baby". I told Jill that I'm sure she is...she is probably the smartest baby ever...ok...maybe not as smart as mine were/are. hehe. I'll have Miss D's big brother over tomorrow when Jill takes Miss D up to OHSU. M & J have been asking (for days) if it's THE day that Big D comes over. J is excited to have his cousin over to play Wii.
Well, I came home from a senior session & fell asleep in my papasan chair. I'm not sure how that happened! I woke up about 9pm & E had the all of the kids, (I make it sound like I have 12 & not just 3), in their pj's & was getting them ready for bed! I felt like a horrible mom! I was, pleasantly, surprised that he took care of everything. I just felt like I had missed an entire day with M. She's been at school all day & I left the boys with Bobo this afternoon & didn't get home until 5pm. At least she doesn't have school tomorrow. We're going to have to stick together too! We'll be out numbered! ;)

Writings by Miss M & Fall Frolics

My first trip to the North Poll
By M
I licke going to the North poll
said pony
I just licke it so much.
do you understand me?
yes said the little pony.



Frends are the best ever
By M
I see a big black bear with sharp claws
but here comes a bear cub.
a cheetu is on a tree looking at the bear cub
saying can you be my frend?
the bear cub siad, yes i can be your frend
but i haft to tell my mom.


Miss M is so excited that we will soon be headed to the North Pole (I think that I am just as excited as the kids) to see Santa, drink hot cocoa all whilst wearing our pj's! (note to self...by cute, modest pj's...ratty sweats that I've owned since high school won't do - side note...those ratty pj's got me out of a speeding ticket in my newly married/college days. That's another story tho). The bear story...we're headed to Yellowstone, (I'm so excited! It looks like several of our local friends/kids will be going & we'll meet our Utah friends their! yay!), this summer & we've had several bear discussions. I bought the kids some books on Yellowstone...they won't get them until Christmas. I am blanking on the title of M's book, but it has questions that kids ask park rangers. It discusses geysers, wildlife, etc. It also has age appropriate activities. J's is SO J! He is 4...so, potty talk is something that we try to curb around here, but I couldn't resist the book "Who pooped in the park". Yes, it's about identifying scat. He'll love it.

I love that M is starting to use punctuation in her stories. J & I worked on reading today, while M was at school. He is so into the school thing right now. It makes me happy because a year ago, he only let M teach him things. He loves to play school while M is at school. K is starting to climb. I am very happy that he put off that little task...until this week. J was climbing EVERYTHING at 9mo. He didn't start walking until 14mo...but he sure could climb! A month ago, K's greatest joy in life was walking everywhere, (he started walking at 12mo 2days). Our living room/kitchen/dining room is very open, so he would just walk the circle...beaming with pride that he was a big boy that could walk. Now he climbs on to my papasan & stands up....beaming. Then goes into his bedroom & climbs on J's bed & then on to their little work bench...and stands. I am so afraid to leave the room, for fear that he is going to fall off. So, I am back to showering only when he is sleeping. So, that's either waking up really early (7:30 is early in this house...my kids are sleepers), or waiting until nap time...which I can't handle. I like to be clean before starting my day. Have I blogged about K's obsession with underwear?? UGH! He always manages to find a dirty pair & just walks around with it. Usually J's. He happened to find a CLEAN pair while helping me fold laundry. He was packing it around, so I put it on his head...he went about playing with chonies on his head. He was SO PROUD of his "hat". This boy is going to have some freaky habits.
I added some photos of the big kids in the leaves. It started out w/ M being silly...then she started putting leaves in the umbrella (not what Aunt Vicky had in mind for the umbrellas, i'm sure). So, J joins in...he tends to get a bit out of control...he starts dumping the leaves on his sis...no biggie. She retaliates & he starts crying. Well, if ya can't take it...don't dish it.... Yes, I have sort of a twisted sense of humor & caught it all on my little memory card. Of course, photographing him didn't make him any happier. Oops. They make up pretty quickly...no worries. Oh! Notice Blu's favorite passtime. He LOVES the slide.
Well, my m&m/green tea habit is back...so is the insomnia...correlation ya think? hmmm... ;) Well, I'm off to do something not so stimulating...like read a book...& try to get some sleep.

Vintage Christmas

I'm just finishing up mini sessions. I saw this image & thought of a card that I designed a few weeks ago.... You've all seen photos of the little girl...she was one of the little princesses from the princess contest. She is a week older than K. Her brother is J's age...I wish that we would get them together more! Maybe when the holidays are over....

Canela has the best jewelry

& is always posting the best blog giveaways! :) I have actually been meaning to post photos of my jewelry by Canela. It's on my "to do" list...I promise! Here is a giveaway that I found while perusing her site. Love it! I have just the spot for it!

Princess D

Here are a few photos from my visit to see my sis & the kidlets last week.... She was so smiley & alert when I got there. We stayed for a couple of hours...until she wore out. :) You can see one of the hemangiomas on her birthmark leg...a couple ruptured last week. Luckily, they weren't connected to an artery, so they only bled a little. Anyhow...I'm off to take pics of my kiddos in the leaves....