"ON THE DAY THAT YOU WERE BORN....

...the angels got together, and decided to create a dream come true...."-karen carpenter


two or three days after bella was born in nicu.

well, today is my lil bella-boo's 3rd birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BELLA-BOO!

you have taught me and your daddy so much in the three short years that you have been with us. you have taught us patience, more joy then we thought was possible, and have given us lots and lots of love. you can be a handful sometimes, but honestly, i wouldn't have it any other way. you are the most beautiful lil girl a mommy, daddy, and big brother could ask for.

you make us laugh everyday with the funny things that come out of your little mouth and with the dramatics you provide us with. you amaze us every day with your intelligence at a such a young age.

some of the things that you love/love to do at 3:

*curious george
*stick-lib (lipstick)
*pop-tarts
*books
*coloring
*dance/sing
*chicken nuggets
*your daddy putting you to bed EVERY night
*hunter (just like your mommy and brother)
*put dishes that you see laying around in the sink
*going poop and potty on the big girl potty (yeee haaaawww!!)
*dora
*going to school
*dressing up like cinderlla
*CINDERLLA
*blowing bubbles
*candy, candy, and more candy
*gum, gum, and more gum

we love you so much bella-boo!!! we hope your third birthday is a great one!

love,

mommy, daddy, and bug (aka mikey)


this a.m. while eating her birthday breakfast at the local donut shop

and for those that weren't visiting last year, you can read her birth story here.

WHOA!!! I'M GETTIN' OLD!!!

well, as i mentioned earlier, saturday was the bachelorette party for my dear highschool friend amy.

i had NO intention on going out and getting drunk. i had planned on driving myself to the club and driving myself home. i didn't plan on getting it set up so me and my girl greta would have a DD and i could drink the night away. i def. didn't plan on getting drunk and dancing like its nobody's business (b/c after all, i can't dance worth a shit).

i didn't plan on any of that, but shit, am i glad it happened.

i had *so* much more fun that i thought i would have. me and greta drank our usual crown and diet coke (okay it was diet pepsi) and i swear, it was 90% crown, 10% soda. then us two genius' were drinking that shit with straws and using it as a thirst quencher from all that dancing.

seven crown and coke's (ehhmm..pepsi) later, we were three sheets to the wind.

i danced so much i am still paying for it. oh, speaking of paying for it....

...so you woulda thought all of that was enough, but no, we have joe-mike (greta's best gay guy friend) pick me and greta up and take us to the gay bar (love this joint) and had a blast there. thank God i had stopped drinking at that point b/c i was gooooood to go.

so after that, the three of us piled in the jeep (joe mike was sober) and drove back to greta's. had a few smokes and then hit the hay....at three-fuckin'-o'clock in the a.m.

i hardly slept at all. i think i prayed more that i wouldn't throw up in greta's house. seven a.m. rolled around and i hopped in my car and drove that loooooong way home to the country. i walked in the door, kissed mike, told him i had to go throw up, hit the shower to wash that drunk/bar smell off of me, mike made me toast, and then i slept until 12:30.

and if that wasn't enough, i danced so much (and did God knows what kind of moves) that my abdomen and legs are friggin' killing me.

but hey, at least i got some exercise right????

here are some pics for your viewing pleasure :)


me and greta doing our usual self picture


the jordan sisters, stose and rachel


me and the bride to be getting doooooowwwwwwn


rachel and the bride to be


me, greta, and rachel


greta shakin' that ass


ya think i've had enough to drink??? i'm actually going to scrap this page. i never, ever dance b/c i think i look like elaine did on that episode of seinfeld. apparently here lately, i really don't care (thanks greta....that's b/c of you *muah*)


the other girls doing a line dance

WHEW A BUSY SATURDAY AHEAD!!!

well, the day started off wonderfully. i got to sleep in (7:30 is MAJOR sleeping in) drove down the street to get some donuts from the local donut shop and drank some yummy chocolate milk.

we're now off to jcpenney's to go get bella's some shoes for the wedding me and her are in next saturday and then to mason's bday party at the fun factory! the kiddos love it there.

i got mason a lil canvas tote to put his presents in (instead of a paper gift bag...paid the same price for it too) and then painted an "m" on it. super easy and super cute (if i do say so myself). i def. think i am going to do this from now on for the lil people in my life.

i also made his lil bday card.





then once we get home from the party, i have to get ready to go to a bachelorette party (for the bride who's wedding we'll be in next saturday). there will def. not be much drinking tonight and hopefully it won't be a late night as i have a ton to do tomorrow and cannot spend the day on the couch nursing a hangover.

we are getting together at one of the bridesmaid's house before we got out for a lil noshing. i am bringing cupcakes.....DICK CUPCAKES!!!

thats right folks, a yummy white chocolate penis adorns each cupcake.

YUM!!!



hope ya'll are having a wonderful saturday.

note: sorry this post seems rambled...the fam is waiting for me to get off the puter so we can get moving :)

LUV EM!!!

i should hop on a plane, head to new york, and give my gal pal veronica a big ol hug for posting this video on her site yesterday. i am friggin' addicted to this band of hotties. went home, dloaded some of their stuff and have been rockin' to em ever since.

now some of you folks may be thinking, whats the big deal (since i have never heard of them before i have no idea how well known they are)?

well, i only listen to my ipod or classic rock. so i don't hear all the new stuff and they friggin' rock.

thanks v!

I WRITE SINS, NOT TRAGEDIES (Panic At The Disco)

Video Code provided by VideoCodeZone.Com

HAPPY HUMP DAY!!!

nothing much to report around here. mind is about ready to explode trying to remember all the stuff i have to get done...grrr!!!

hopefully, i will have more to report tomorrow.

until then, i leave you with this. cupcakes i made the other night. triple chocolate fudge with vanilla cream cheese frosting. then a handmade chocolate star placed on the top. they were yummy!!!

CHECK THIS OUT!!!

the ever fab-boo jaime pointed everyone over to a wonderful pea who is taking people's handwriting and turning it into a font.

how generous is that???

i got my font back today.

isn't it great?

the only thing that is a lil different, is that i write my letters perfectly even about a few cm's above the lines on a piece of paper.

other than that, its perfect!!!!

if you want to get your handwriting turned into a font, check out the details here.

NEED SOME HELP!!!

has anyone moved over to typepad from blogger and took their archives with them?

i know beki has, but she had a baby yesterday (congrats beki!!) and i'm guessing won't be around the puter for a while.

i really want to move to typepad. i don't care if i have to pay for it or not. i really like the whole organizational thing they have going on over there. ya'll don't know how many times i have looked thru all my archives just looking for a post.

any help would be mucho appreciated :)

ANOTHER DAY AT THE ZOO!!!

well, friday, we took the kiddos to the zoo-to-do for kids like we did last year.

of course we had a blast (aside from the fact that we got lost on the way home and got into a big ol fight about it, but that doesn't count does it?).

there weren't as many food vendors as last year due to the storm, but there was still a ton of yummy food, freebies, animals, and fun things to do.

we will continue to support the audubon zoo by going to this event every year (well, that is until the kids are too old and bitch and complain that they don't wanna go ;)

*WARNING!!! PICTURE HEAVY!!!

LOOK WHO FINALLY HAS SOME MOJO!!!

ya know, i'v been holding on to these cj (circle journals for all you non-scrappers) for a couple of months now and did nothing with them. in three days/nights i got them all finished.

i am *so* happy with these pages (esp. the blue ones) that i almost hate that they won't be in a book of my own. but at least they'll be in greta's book.

her cj theme was colors. i chose two of my favorites orange (has always been a favorite) and blue (a new favorite).


the sign in tag.








this is my favorite one of all. in the pocket on the strips of paper, i've listed some of my favorite blue things: my boys in blue ;), my car, the sky, the ocean, blah blah.

a side note...i friggin' hate artificial light. these lo's look so much better in person.

FINALLY MY CIRCLE JOURNAL IS DONE!!!

whew...its about damn time! i was only supposed to get it in the mail to next scrapper april first. thank goodness i am in a small circle journal group with a group of fantastic girls who understand what its like to be busy.

i'm hoping that tonight i can work on (and possibly finish) greta's journal so i can get that in the mail too! mikey's t-ball game was cancelled due to rain. i'm not complaining though b/c we have had only about one inch of rain in two to three months.

which is really good b/c last night i was really in the mood to scrap and i could so sit down right now and scrap my heart away.

my theme was collections.


the cover (loves these lil s.e.i. albums).


cover sheet


tag sheet.


books


sprinkles


buttons


sharpies.

WE'RE ALL A LIL BUGGY AND WE'RE ALL GOING POTTY ON THE BIG GIRL POTTY!!!

so mikey came home a couple of weeks ago with a school project.

must collect bugs. must kill bugs. must display bugs.

okay, no biggie really. we live in the country, there are bugs all over the place. plus, we had two weeks to get the project done.

when do you think we did the project?

that's right, today. the day before the project is due.

way to teach the kids procrastination right? (that's another post).

you should have seen me and mike running around outside today chasing butterflies and dragonflies...lol. two folks with bum knees running around like fools.

we did manage to get the bugs and after mikey's teammate's bday party, we (okay, me) put the project together.

i have to admit, i did start to cry when it came time to push the pin through the bug. yes, they were already dead, but i felt a lil sick to my stomach.

so anyway, project done and i must say it turned out pretty darn good considering that we wanted until the last minute. i even picked up the supplies today...lol. i was going to get one of those memorabilia boxes, but decided to pick up this great box at walmart. wanna know the best thing about it? this box was filled with making memories scrapping supplies. double score.





in other news, we have been desperately trying to get bella potty trained. we tried everything: candy, chocolate chips, fancy potties, yelling, threatening...if you've gone through this, you know the drill.

but nothing worked.

well, i finally found something that does work....MONEY!!!

that's right folks, good ol fashion bribery with money. to a 2 year old to boot! but that is what my lil gold digger likes. heck, when mike walks in the front door she automatically digs through his pockets looking for moola.

i actually don't care what it took, it works.

she has been going potty religiously...'cept sometimes after nap...and has racked up quite the lil stash. she gets a quarter for everytime she potties and fifty cents for everytime she poops.

i think this weekend, she has made about five bucks.

i'm so proud of her though...so i'm hoping in the next few weeks, she will be 100% done...whooo haaaa!



hope ya'll have had a good weekend. mine was plenty more busy then this, but i'm pooped and its time for bed.

talk to ya'll tomorrow!

hugs!

THIS IS TOO GOOD TO NOT PASS ON!!!

got this in an email this a.m. from my boss.

i remember all these things and i have now declared when i make mistakes at work, i'll be shouting "DO OVER!!!"

Those were the good ole? days!!!!!! Let?s bring it back?


This one is good. hope you like it. It almost brought a tear to my eyes. NOSTALGIC MEMORIES

Close your eyes...And go back...

Before the Internet or the MAC

Before semi automatics and crack

Before SEGA or Super Nintendo...

Way back...


a.. I'm talkin' bout hide and go seek at dusk
b.. Red light, Green light
c.. Playing kickball & dodgeball until your porch light came on
d.. Mother May I?
e.. Red Rover
f.. Hula Hoops
g.. Running through the sprinkler
h.. Happy Meals

Wait...

a.. Watchin' Saturday Morning cartoons
b.. Fat Albert, Road Runner, Smurfs, Picture Pages, G-Force & He-Man, Woman & Super Man, Underoos
c.. Playing Dukes of Hazard
d.. Catchin' lightning bugs in a jar
e.. Christmas morning
f.. Your first day of school
g.. Bedtime Prayers and Goodnight Kisses
h.. Climbing trees
i.. Getting an Ice Cream off the Ice Cream Truck
j.. A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers
k.. Jumpin' down the steps
l.. Jumpin' on the bed
m.. Pillow fights
n.. Runnin' till you were out of breath
o.. Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt
p.. Being tired from playing
q.. Your first crush
r.. Rainy days at school meant playing "Heads up 7UP" in the classroom Remember that?

I'm not finished yet..

a.. Kool-Aid was the drink of the summer
b.. Giving your friends a ride on your handlebars
c.. Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school
d.. Class Field Trips
e.. When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there.
f.. When a quarter seemed like a fair allowance, and another quarter a Miracle.
g.. When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him or use him to carry Groceries, and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.
h.. When your parents took you to McDonalds and you were so cool.
i.. When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to he fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.

Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! And some of us are still afraid of em!

Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that!"

I want to go back to the time when...

a.. Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo"
b.. Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!"
c.. "Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
d.. Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "monopoly"
e.. Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening
f.. It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.
g.. Being old, referred to anyone over 20. (CRAP! I'm officially old!)
h.. The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.
i.. Nobody was prettier than Mom
j.. Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better
k.. It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big people" rides at the amusement park.
l.. Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.
m.. Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dog-dare"
n.. Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.
o.. The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
p.. Water balloons were the ultimate, ultimate weapon.
q.. Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protector

If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!

Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up" life......I DOUBLE DOG DARE YA!!!!!!

FOR YOU!!!!

b/c if you didn't know already how much i luv ya, you do now!

this everyone is my best guy friend tommy (however, i never call him this really. i call him by his last name...ya see, when i started at the pd, i called every officer by their last name. hell, i didn't call michael "michael" till we were practically married...lol..old habits die hard!).

you see that guy up there?

well he would do absolutely *ANYTHING* for me (and does!).

*he buys me cherries b/c he knows i like them.

*he brings parfaits to work for breakfast.

*i can talk to him about *anything*!

*he's my shoulder to cry on.

*he's my sunday morning mass (even though sometimes i don't wanna hear it ;)

*he's part of my sanity at work.

*he's simply great.

i luv ya buddy :)

I *LURVE* ME SOME GRETA!!!

greta & i at the donal snyder community center for inspector burriss' retirement party 4-17-06

can i just say that this girl rocks my socks off.

seriously!!!

how we became friends

when greta started at the pd, she worked over in cid (criminal investigations division) and i was still the major's secretary over on the patrol side. on a daily basis, i had to bring her completed patrol follow up information and usually slid it through the lil slot that she had in her plastic window (no protection from the crazies with that).

she thought i was an uber bitch and i thought she seemed a lil mean.

when she first started at the pd, oneil (aka lieno...oneil spelled backwards...lol...thats another story) was still a deputy for the sheriff's department. i heard that he had been involved in a shooting and my heart immediately went out to greta. i wasn't sure of all the details at that time, but i knew what it was like to be an officer's wife.

i then did something that i have never done before. i called greta in her office to see how lieno was and to let her know that if she ever wanted to talk about what happened, to give me a call.

i then started going over to her office to chit chat and then on one particular day, i mentioned a scrapbooking magazine. we both discovered a love that we both shared.

the rest is history.

they're like two peas in a pod, but boy are they different

lol..its funny, me and greta are like night and day.

*i'm an introvert, she's and extrovert

*i'm afraid of getting caught, she is more then happy to take the chance

*i believe in love, she believes in one night stands ;)

*i can pour a mean batter into a cake pan, greta can pour a mean crown & coke

*i can paint a picture, greta can paint a face (and very well i might add

*i live in day dreams, she lives in the moment

*i like classic rock, she likes hip hop (or booty shakin' music as i call it ;)

these are just a few of the ways we are different. which is prolly why we get along so wonderfully. we compliment each other beautifully!

one of us is the exquisite meal, the other is the fine wine that goes with it perfectly.

what i love about greta

there are so many things that i love about this girl and so many things that she has taught me in the 3+ years that we have been friends, i don't know if i can fit them all into a post.

but i will name the things that are my favorite:

*greta has made me more me. what i mean is that greta doesn't let me forget that i don't need to give a rat's ass as to what anyone thinks of me and to just be me. for this i am forever greatful. i don't think that she will ever understand how this has changed my life.

*greta is always there to tell me how great i am...lol. she never lets me forget that i am a beautiful, talented woman.

*greta always tells me how it is (even if i don't want to hear its). she pulls my heads out of the clouds on a pretty regular basis and brings me back to reality. she lets me know if i am being a bitch (and believe you me, this is something that i need to be told, b/c sometimes for me, its just so natural that i don't even realize that i am being one).

*she always puts up with me when i am being a bitch :)

*i can walk around naked around greta. now before anyone gets all perverted (michael, i mean you if you are reading love) let me explain. i feel so comfortable in my skin (thanks to greta) that i can undress in front of her. i think the only person that i have ever been comfortable doing that in front of is mike. i won't even do that in front of my mom. but she has made me so comfortable and is so comfortable in her own skin, that i am able to do that.

*she will listen to me go on and on and on and on about the same ol shit and just listens to it.

*she calls me just cause. we may sit there in silence sometimes, but its nice to know she is on the other end.

*i can never get enough of her and if i don't have communication with her for even a few hours really, i have major "greta withdrawals".

*we are becoming in tuned with each other. i will think of her and she will call me. i love this about great friendships. that almost becoming one with each other.

*we can talk about the cat's meow over and over and over and over again and never get tired of it.

*we both have fallen in love with veronica mars (and a buncha other shows) and will talk about it like we know the folks.

*she excepts (and has to put up with) all my faults and still loves me.

i could keep going on and on and i am sure that when i am laying in bed tonight about to fall asleep, i'll think more things to add.


greta is simply one of the love's in my life.

i seriously love this girl and truly believe that a piece of my life would be missing if she wasn't in it.

i thank God every day that i stepped outta my shell and made that phone call.

girl, if you're reading (which i know you are) i love you! you make life fun. without you....well, shit, i don't know what i would do without you. know that i love you and would do absolutely anything that you needed. i hope you know that i am here for you ALWAYS!!!

shit, now i'm gonna get all weepy and wish that you were here to give a big ol hug to!

fuck diamonds, you truly are a girl's best friend.

i luv ya :)

MUAH!!!!

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

we've already found our easter baskets, had an easter egg hunt in the front yard and are starting to get ready to go to my mom's to grill out and have another egg hunt.

hope everyone has a HOPPY, HOPPY EASTER!!!