"I can wear long sleeves now!"

This was one of Alainna's first comments after her cast was removed. Yea! And just in time for trick or treating tomorrow!

Alainna was such a good sport - Shelly and Jessica had prepared her for the noisy saw the doctor would use, so she was very brave!

The smell wasn't as bad as we thought it would be - but we certainly scrubbed her arm up before we left the doctor's office!

Eric had a surprise for Alainna - a lion Webkinz. He chose a lion because of her bravery throughout the past six weeks.

On Tuesday, I told Alainna I would take her out to lunch to celebrate getting her cast removed. She first said she wanted to go to Stone Park, but when I told her it would be too cold for a picnic, she said, "the hot dog place!" (a/k/a Milwaukee Wiener House). So, we stopped and picked up hot dogs for us, as well as Eric and Brian, and took them up to the office for our little party.

Alainna is so excited to start up swimming lessons again next week - she was a little disappointed she couldn't get in the pool last night, but I think she understood the doctor's instructions to take it easy.

Oh, and if you are wondering why I'm referring to Ali as "Alainna," it's because the sweetheart corrects me every time I call her Ali - "Mom, I have a Webkinz named Ali!" is her reply.

Sweet Treats!

I signed up for my second class with Trish Turay over at Debbie Hodge's website. Wow - Trish is one talented lady! I've enjoyed her creative projects, as well as her eagerness to help - I've e-mailed her several times with questions and she always gets right back to me! Trish also puts together terrific kits at her website, Work in Progress. And her blog is chockfull of inspiration!

Here are a few examples from Trish's class -




This is her "sour cream candy container" - I used Basic Grey birthday-themed patterned paper and filled them with M&Ms as birthday treats for Jack and Will. They were SO cute and SO easy!






This is the "Spider Cider." I made these using Reminisce patterned paper and stickers, then some bits and pieces from WIP's October project kit. I stamped the recipe card using an SU stamp set. The "Spider Cider" is very yummy - I've nearly finished one batch all by myself. This was a Halloween treat for one of Alainna's preschool teachers - she loved it!



Finally, here is the "Monster Munch." Alainna helped me out a lot with this one! We found the bucket at Michaels'. First, we prepared the "Monster Munchies" - VERY tasty! We lined the bucket with tissue paper, which Alainna stamped ALL BY HERSELF with some of my Unity stamps. I used Reminisce patterned paper and the SU stamp for the recipe card. This was also a Halloween treat for one of Alainna's teachers.

It was so much fun to use my scrapbooking and card making supplies to make these seasonal goodies! I'll be the first one in line for Trish's next online class!

Swimming fun!

Jack and Will started swimming lessons in January, 2008, when they were a little over a year old. We went for four months, then took off the summer. The boys did well - but toward the end, Jack would get very whiny during his lesson - and this summer, he wasn't too excited about being in a pool or lake. (I suppose the fact that he turned heels over head a couple times in his little floatie in Brian's pool added to his reluctance!)

Anyway, when we started up in September, 2008, Jack absolutely LOVES it! So does Will, but we've noticed the biggest attitude change with Jack. They are both doing awesome - the teacher, Jessica, is impressed with Will because he is started to swim on his belly like he's "supposed" to - instead of swimming perpendicular to the water. Jessica has even been taking off the boys' arm floaties for part of the lesson so they can learn to swim without them.

We're not looking to either boy becoming an Olympic swimmer, but we're so glad they like the water - especially Daddy!

Ahhh....a weekend for ME!!!

Last weekend, I attended a scrapbooking retreat at the Swan Lake Christian Camp in Viborg, South Dakota, arranged by my good friend, Teresa. What a beautiful place! All summer, the camp hosts youth groups but it is also available to rent for groups - like a group of scrapbookers! The scenery was gorgeous - especially with the changing of the seasons - and so serene. I was able to complete lots of layouts and cards and pick up tricks and hints from the others ladies there.

Saturday night, Michelle and I ventured to the town of Tea for church. We attended a very nice church, St. Nicholas - I couldn't get over the stained glass windows! We utilized the GPS for the trip to the church, but as we were leaving, Michelle decided to call her sister, Kim, who is very familiar with the back roads of South Dakota, to see if she could give us a quicker route back to the camp. Success! Except Kim was a little irritated when I told her the GPS wanted us to go one way and she wanted us to go another!

Saturday night I stayed up WAY too late - but hey! It was a weekend for ME, right? :> Sunday morning, I awoke to Teresa's voice announcing, "Last call for breakfast!" It was nearly 8:30! I couldn't believe it! I don't remember the last time I slept THAT late!

I had such a wonderful time - I hope it's not too long before I do it again. Eric was such a saint - he didn't utter one word of disgust for me taking this weekend.

Here are some pictures - you can kind of see the lake in the distance - and then a shot of the big indoor room where we scrapped. The room behind us was where we ate the DELICIOUS meals prepared by the camp staff. We were SOOO spoiled by the cooking! Beef stroghanoff, chicken fajitas, fresh cinammon and carmel rolls for Sunday breakfast, and dessert with every meal. Yum.

The Story on that AWESOME cake!

I've received so many compliments on the Lighting McQueen cake I wanted to tell you about the talented lady responsible for it!

This is my friend, Mandy - I "met" her on the Scraproom message board and she only lives about 30 miles from me. This past summer, Mandy posted some pictures on the MB of beautiful wedding cakes. She included a picture of the groom's cake, which was a car, and commented how she makes a Lighting McQueen cake, too. RIGHT AWAY I sent her a message asking if she could make a cake for Jack and Will's 2nd birthday. We sent messages back and forth and last Friday, the day before the big birthday bash, Mandy brought the cake to me at work. Ladies and gentlemen, here she is!!!



Amazing job, don't you think? Thanks, Mandy, for making Jack and Will's birthday celebration SOOOO special! I'm going to have to have you brainstorm for Ali's birthday...right now, she's saying SHE wants a Lighting McQueen cake, too.

Happy Birthday to Jack and Will!

This post is a few days late, but Jack and Will had a WONDERFUL birthday celebration this past Saturday. Memere and Pepere made the trip from Connecticut to celebrate with us. We opened presents on Saturday morning, ate dinner at Red Robin, and enjoyed cake back at our house.

As I was wrapping presents the night before and getting excited for the big day, I couldn't help but think back to the night before their birth two years ago. The FIRST thing that came to mind was my fear of becoming dehydrated because I had to stop all food at water at midnight. I remember drinking so much water that night, that I couldn't go to sleep without having to get up every fifteen minutes to go to the bathroom!

What an amazing two years. Our family has been blessed with three beautiful children. We thank God everyday for the gift of our family!