20 week ultrasound

Today Lou and I went for the 20 week ultrasound.  We found out we are having a...














































BABY!!!!!
Yeah, that's right.  We already have a stubborn child!  The baby was moving and making it difficult for the tech to get the images she needed, but failed to uncross it's legs the whole time!  I even got up, used the bathroom, and walked around.  Nothing!  Still sitting indian style!
Although we still do not know if we are having a boy or girl, being able to "see" the baby was amazing.  We even got a 4D ultrasound even though the tech wasn't supposed to do it.  She was trying SOOO hard to find the sex of the baby.  So, I don't have news about the gender, but I do have some pretty darn cute pictures.

This one is my favorite.  I can't believe how much I can see!  Doesn't the baby look so sweet and innocent there?  Too bad I already know better than to believe that!

At this point we were laughing.  The tech was talking to the baby asking it to put down the one hand that was in the way.  Instead, we got two hands in the way!

This picture is a little creepy, but it makes me smile.  I got to watch the baby try to get it's hand into it's mouth!  And the baby kept sticking it's tounge out at us!

Here is the regular u/s picture.  I love the profile pics.  They are so sweet!

And just because they are also VERY cute (even if it's just to me), here is a leg and arm!

Here's to hoping that we do eventually get to know whether this little one is a boy or girl.  I would love to be able to call the baby he or she rather than the baby or it!  I also don't want to pick two names.  We are having a hard enough time trying to pick ONE we agree on!

November Design Team Projects for Scrapfreak

This month at Scrap Freak I worked with a few different lines.  First was the Amplify line by Sassafras Lass.  Although I am not a huge fan of purple, the second I saw this line I thought of my sister!  She loves purple and the funky patterns were perfect for this page of her and the bedroom decor I made for her!

For this LO I used Sassafras Lass Paper Whimsies - Shindig, Sassafras Lass Amplify 12x12 - Marvel, Maya Road Trinket Pins - Clear Jewels, American Crafts Fabric Thickers - Delight - Black, and Distress Stickles™ Glitter Glue / Tim Holtz Designer Series - Rock Candy.

The other line I worked with was Pink Paislee Mistletoe and Co.  It was a nice change from the traditional Christmas pattern paper.  I loved it for my Christmas cards!

For these cards I used Pink Paislee Mistletoe and Co. 12x12 - Postcards, Distress Stickles™ Glitter Glue / Tim Holtz Designer Series - Rock Candy, and Tim Holtz Crackle Paint in Rock Candy.

The last thing I did was work with the new Maya Road Christmas Tree mini.  I have love making decorative minis without pictures lately!

I used a quote by Roy L Smith, "He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree."  For this mini I used a bunch of hodgepodge supplies.  It was lots of fun to make!  I used Maya Road Mini Christmas Tree Book, Maya Road Mist - Avocado Metallic, Maya Road Trinket Beads - Hanging Chandelier, Maya Road Trinket Pins - Clear Jewels, American Crafts Fabric Thickers - Delight - Black, Jenni Bowlin Tiny Circle Alpha Cardstock Stickers - Vintage Red, and Sassafras Lass Amplify 12x12 Sweet Treat Stickers.

Black Friday Fill-Ins

1. Wait! Wait, don't forget the food in the fridge for Thanksgiving.
2. Eating followed at once by sleeping.
3. The trouble is I'm starving NOW.
4. Most of my friends live many miles away.
5. With a faint pop my ear is feeling better.
6. The weather, shadowy and ominous.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving with my family, tomorrow my plans include Yvies baby shower and Sunday, I want to scrap!

Friday Fill-ins

1. We need lots of things before we move.  I need to go shopping!
2. I got to hear the baby's heartbeat today, and it made me smile.
3. If you want ... I got nothing for this one!
4. I'm sad because I'm not feeling well again.
5. Massachusetts has a proposed 5% sales tax on elective cosmetic surgery; I think it's kind of funny.
6. Being with my family makes for a happy holiday.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to being lazy, tomorrow my plans include going to Flint for K's birthday party and Sunday, I want to go to Bronner's!

Friday Fill-ins (I know, it's Sunday!)

1. The last band I saw live was Revelation.
2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is spending time with my family.
3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is not even started! I still don't know what I want to get anyone.
4. Thoughts of where in the heck I am going to live fill my head.
5. I wish I could wear pants with a button.
6. Bagpipes are weird.
7. And as for the weekend, it's almost over!

The Twins-Ashley and Cassidy

The girls LOVE having their pictures taken. It helps that I bribed them with "basketball robbins" for ice cream when they were wanting to be done. And I also let them take a few pictures too. Here are some of my favorites.

Ashley just instantly starts posing when she see's a camera! She's definately the little diva!




Cassidy would rather be the one taking the pictures! She did let me get a few, but after a couple she said, "OK, now you sit in the chair and I'll take your picture!" Good try Cass!




Getting a picture of the girls together wasn't working so well! Darn, I'll just have to try again!

The Zoo (again!)

Some of you may know this already, but the zoo is and has always been my favorite place in Grand Rapids. As far back as I can remember I have always loved the zoo. So, this year Lou and I decided to buy a membership. It was only $43 for the year and we can also use it at other zoos through out the country, so it just seemed like something that would be nice for us. We have already used it enough that it paid for itself, and we still have about 10 months left! (Not that I will be using it much in the dead of winter.)
Another new thing going on with me is my new camera. I bought a used DSLR off of ebay. Not something I would normally use, but it was a reputable seller, and I got a hell of a deal. It's a Canon Rebel 300D. It's a few years old, and it has some cosmetic wear, but the camera itself works great! I am really happy with it.

Well, lets combine my love of the zoo with the fact that I got a new camera and here is what you get:

The newest animals in the zoo are the Wallaby's and the Lemurs. The idea is pretty cool. They have an outdoor area that is set up so the wallaby's can come down and people can pet them. Well, apparently this guy had enough. He wouldn't even look at anyone. He just sat there pretending that no one was around!


The bears have been really active the last few times I visited. This time was no exception. Everytime the dark brown bear would get comfortable, the light brown bear would wander over and ruin it! Look how comfortable s/he looks, and two seconds later... DONE!


For as far back as I can remember there has been a Maned Wolf exhibit back behind the small waterfall and the Llama looking guys, but I have never actually seen said wolf. Well, I finally saw them! There were two of them. They were hiding really far up in their enclosure. You can barely see them in the pictures, but I have photographic evidence!


This is the small waterfall. It's nice because not as many people hang out and watch this one. It gave me a chance to try some of the different settings on my camera. This is the best shot I got.


One more thing about me that I think everyone knows is that I have an obsession with lions! I am so happy with the new lion enclosure! There is a rock that is right in front of the glass. This female lion is laying on it sunbathing almost everytime we have been to the zoo. I'm starting to feel like big cat diaries, but I know it is the same girl! Isn't she beautiful?


While the monkeys are cool to watch. I have to say, I'm glad I'm not one of the parents that has to explain to my kids "why do the monkeys have weird butts?" Not going to lie, it's kind of gross. But, I'll share with you anyway!


And this guy... Lou knows my obsession with taking pictures at the zoo. He is constantly helping me find good shots. So, he calls me over to a chimp that was hanging out on the stairs by himself. As I'm walking over he is pooping and sticking his finger up his butt. Sorry, but at this point I refuse to believe that people derived from chimps! After he was done doing his business he sat back on the steps and stared at Kacie! If she moved, so did he. It was great! This one makes me think of "The Thinker"!


And I'll finish this post off with my favorite picture of the day. It's not a wonderful picture, no special techinical elements, nothing like that. It's just a picture that reminds me of one of the reasons I fell in love with Lou. He has always been great with Kacie. He doesn't treat her like she will break, yet he always makes her feel good. He has always had a way with her, even back when she was shy and barely spoke to anyone except her family. And now that she is older, they always have fun picking on me together!

Just for fun...

You Are Medium Maintenance

Like everyone else, you have some things you are particular about. You're not too annoying about it, and you're able to go with the flow most of the time. You've learned to stand your ground on what matters but also make compromises from time to time. You have good taste. Too bad not everyone shares it.

Are You High Maintenance?

My green thumb...

Lou and I have been working in the back yard all summer to get the grass growing, clean some areas up, and have pretty flowers. We didn't know a ton about gardening when we started, but it's been fun watching all of our hard work pay off!

Here are some pictures of the raised flower bed around the big tree and my homemade topsy turvies with tomato and pepper plants...

Just something to make you smile!

HUGE news...

At the beginning of this month the announcement was made that there would be an opening on the design team at Scrapfreak. I bit the bullet and decided that I needed to apply since I love the site and all of the people so much! Well, I got great news! I was selected to be part of Team Freak!!!!!!! I am so excited to join the team. I love all the girls and can't wait to work with them.

Sun poisoning

Lou and I took Amy's girls to the Potter Park zoo yesterday. It was really cool. We bought a membership to the John Ball Park zoo this year and Potter Park is one of the recipricoal zoos we get to go to with our membership.
We mainly went because they have a Rhino exhibit, but when we got there we found out that they are redoing the exhibit, so there are no Rhinos right now!
While we were there the skies opened and there was a heavy downpur for about 10 minutes. We did find cover inside the feline exhibit, but not before we were all soaking wet. The bonus was that it really cooled us off! The girls were so well-behaved. I thought being soaking wet would ruin their fun, but they didn't seem to mind.
I want to go back in the fall when it cools off a bit! Oh and when the Rhino exhibit is open again.

Well, after all the fun we had I got in the car and felt weird bumps on my cheeks. By the time we got home, it had spread down my neck. Now it is on my face, neck, and arms. And, it's most likely sun poisoning. It doesn't hurt or itch just more annoying and I feel like I look weird!

New Get Meaningful Lesson

There is a new lesson today on the Get Meaningful blog. Lesson 14 is about beliefs. This was a hard one for me at first because my beliefs are sort of off the wall. I am a Christian, but I don't believe that going to church and telling the world you are a Christian is all there is to it. So, in a lot of ways, I don't agree with a lot of peoples lifestyles. Oh well, to each their own. As long as I live my life in a way that I feel is right and I'm happy, that's what matters!

So after that tangent, here is the mini I made for this lesson:

A nice Father's Day

Mother's Day and Father's Day have always been a big deal to me. I am very fortunate to have GREAT parents. When my brother and I were trying to figure out what to get my Dad for Father's Day, we had a hard time. My Dad has everything! So we decided since he like golf so much, the guys would take him golfing. I sent Lou in my place, because I don't golf! The guys enjoyed their time together, but neither Lou or Jason had a very good game. After golf we went to my brother's new place for dinner. It was nice sitting around with the family.

I made my Dad a 6x12 LO card instead of just a regular card. It was inspired by the Freaky Friday challenge at scrapfreak.com. You can find the challenge here. And here is my LO:

FREE class at Scrapfreak.com

Just a bit of info to get everyone thinking about the July Class at Scrapfreak.com.

With the kids out of school, and most you taking some time to relax, its the perfect time to work on this fun mini-album!

Here are Bree's top 5 reasons why you should play!
1. You'll learn a fun new way to create your own mini-album using just cardstock!
2. The class is super easy... no deep topics or hard challenges, making it PERFECT for the summer
3. We'll be documenting some of you favorites in a fun new way!
4. I will be providing lots of ideas to help you get jump-started. If your mojo has been missing lately this could be a great way to restart it!
5. Last, you know I love give-aways so I am sure I will come up with some kind of challenge or prize. AND I am going to Singapore, so the prize my include something fun from overseas!

School's out for the summer...

No more papers, no more books, no more teachers dirty looks! (is that how it goes?) I have loved going back to school, but I can say I am very happy that today was my last day. I should have my grades on Monday. Oh, and other good school news... I got a letter in the mail letting me know that I qualify for $1476 in financial aid!! It's not a ton, but it will help for sure.

In other news, I tried the Morning Star burgers tonight. I had the Tomato Basil Pizza burger. It was REALLY good. Now I want to try some of thier other foods.

Well, that's it for me today. Lou is on vacation starting tomorrow, so hopefully we will get some stuff done in the yard.

Bad blogger...

So, I started a blog, then just let it go. I guess I need to get over the fact that I feel like I don't have much going on that is "blog worthy" and just blog what is really going on in my life.

A few fun things with me lately...

1. A friend of mine, Jessica Bree, is doing a year long scrap class called Get Meaningful. She has asked me to be part of her DT. It was such an honor to be asked to join her since I am a HUGE fan of her work. You can see the blog here.

2. Only one more day of school. I have to take an exam and then attend one last class! I am enjoying school, but I am ready for a break!

3. I am almost done paying for my car! It will be such a relief to have car payments behind me.

I will leave you with a few of the LO's I have done recently.

Well, I did it...

I joined Weight Watchers online. Since being off of work, I have gained more weight than I care to talk about. I realized how bad it was when none of my Spring clothes from last year fit me right. I decided that Weight Watchers was a good fit for me. They talk a lot about the fact that cutting out everything that you love is starting out on the wrong track and I know that I have failed many times before. Today is day one, but so far I have done well and I feel good about it. I hope to lose 27 pounds minimum and keep it off! Wish me luck!

A day spent enjoying the sunshine!

It was a beautiful day on Friday. We spent the day playing outside. We even ate our lunch outside! I love it when the girls can just go out and run around and be kids! This winter was so long. It was so sunny that I even got a sunburn! (I'm not complaining. It doesn't hurt and at least there was sun!)

John Ball Zoo

We spent Thursday afternoon at the zoo. It was so nice to be able to get outside! There is a lot of construction going on at the zoo right now and some of the animals aren't out yet, but we had fun. The animals that were out enjoyed the nice weather too.

The bears were liking the nice weather. They were taking a nice dip in the pool to cool down!

The new area opened for the lions last year. When we went this time there weren't very many people there, so we were able to get pretty close to the lions. One of the lionesses was as intrested in us as we were in her. She was almost pressing her nose to the glass! (Sorry the pictures were taken inside a cave so they aren't very good!)

The girls really wanted to go pet the goats. They were really sad when we got there and it was locked. Lou brought them to the fence and that was enough to make them happy. We spend forever petting the goats!

And, who doesn't remember climbing on the statue of John Ball as a kid?