Cookie Season is OVER!

Leila had a successful Girl Scout Cookie season!  Thanks for everyone who supported her- she sold 250 boxes and is very excited at her success!  As for me-- this Cookie Mom was almost GIDDY with excitement when I went to bank to turn in the last of our money.

A sincere thank you to our friends and family who supported Leila. 

Yep- this is A LOT of cases of cookies!  We SOLD THEM ALL!  In total our troop sold 758 boxes of cookies-- not bad for our first year and not knowing what to expect!

Thin Mints are Leila's Favorite!  We had Thin-Mint Milkshakes for dinner one night!

Our troop had three booth sales- and boy was it COLD!  But Leila was a trooper.  Here she is with Peyton in front of Thriftway.

Recovery, kinect and tutututus

Kathryn's recovery has been going very well.  She is feeling great.  She wasn't sleeping real well for about a week, but has started sleeping through the night once again.  She still gets bladder spasms from time to time and they are quite painful- she doesn't know what do with herself- and its brutal to watch, but overall she is doing much much better.  We don't take her into the doctor again until Nov. 30th at which point they will do an ultrasound to make sure things look OK and with those results we will discuss what to do next.  I am very encouraged and happy with how things went and are continuing to go.  A healthy child has to be one of Lifes greatest blessings.

Kathryn is feeling much much better!

Jeremy got his new game on the xbox360- the kinect is a game where there is no controller.  There is a special camera that uses pretty cutting edge technology to track and even recognize its players- or avatars as a nerdy gamer might call it.  I haven't had a chance to play with it yet, but the kids love it and it looks like a great work out.  I normally don't let them play video games until Daddy is home for the night, but today is Friday and its allowing me to blog.

I have been busy making tutu's and coordinating hair bows for my mom to see if they will sell in her upcoming bazaar on Saturday out at Jennings McCall Retirement Center in Forest Grove.  I can make one a nap.  They are super cute- the pictures don't do them justice.

We are looking forward to a nice fall weekend at home with everyone feeling relatively healthy.

Soccer

Nathan really did enjoy soccer even though the above picture doesn't show it(he hates hates hates having his picture taken- if you can enlarge the picture look at that perfect pout!).  The best part was his buddy Jofess was on his team(they have matching shirts from last year).  The coach figured out pretty quick that they didn't need to play together otherwise soccer quickly became a full contact sport.

My sister belongs to an organization out in Hillsboro that is all volunteer and allows children to enjoy the game and not deal with the more competitive side of things.  We have joined in the past several years.  Leila decided soccer isn't her thing.  Its perfect for those of us with kids who aren't sure they want to be competitive and those parents of us who don't have the cash.  Our Nathan is pretty good- we enjoy watching him play and one day might put him in the city league and see how he really does!

Picaboo

I wanted to assemble a little book for Kathryn and her hospital stay with pictures of her family.  I was going to do a mini-scrapbook, but she likes to tear my existing mini-scrapbooks apart.  My sister suggested I try a photo book, which I have always wanted to try.  She sent me a code to get a free 20 page book for my first time try- all I would have to pay was shipping. 

So, I got to work and started picking out pictures.  I had about 100 photos.  So I seriously started cutting down.  I made a book of 24 pages. I got the discount of $39.99 and ended up paying around $16.  I am looking forward to seeing how the book looks in person.

I love to scrap-book.  I love paper.  I love lay-outs.  I love the process of assembling my creativity and getting things put together just right, and then enjoying it over and over again while reviewing the finished product.  I feel its like a puzzle- there are limitations set by the number of items I desire on a page, and I have to figure a way to make it pleasing to the eye.  There is also the constant need to have something new and exciting in my collection. 

Digital scrap booking hasn't proven challenging enough for me, however there are aspects that I do like- the fact I don't have to have all my pictures printed out.  I can also manipulate the photos, zoom in, make larger, change color and even correct all with a click of a mouse.  Some programs have cute little add-on embellishments(not this one however)This book I was able to choose a theme which meant I wouldn't run out of a paper theme.  Oh- and the fact I can sit down on a Sunday afternoon and start to pull together my ideas and have a book ordered by Monday evening, that is very nice.

To see the book online check out the link(You can even buy a copy if you want!):
http://app.picaboo.com/WebView/Project.aspx?clientID=0cac3d5abcc55699f9e6516fcc51cbca&version=50330

So anyway- go to picaboo.com and make yourself a book.  Use code:  1FBLGB-7W  and get yourself $39.99 off your first book and see if you are as satisfied with your product as I hope to be!

New Obsession

Chances are if you called me in the past few days I was standing in my kitchen feeding my new obsession while we talked.

BOWS!

(The last photo are bows made by my neighbor- one of whom is helping me feed my obsession... The "korker" bows are by far my favorite)

Tutu cute

I have some really sweet neighbors who are turning out to be really good friends too. They are also crafty and invite me over to use thier supplies to make my baby look adorable. Kathryn has a new friend too-- Haylee is one week younger than her. Baby friends ROCK!

I am officially entering into my bow making and tutu making phase of my life....

Relaxation

I left these people:

For these people:

A HUGE Thank you to Marcie and Lulu for inviting me to scrapbook, watch movies, walk on the beach, read late into the night, feed me yummy food, not wake me for middle of the night feedings... and just make me feel so loved.

A HUGE Thank to you so my sweet Husband for not only being OK with my leaving him with my three favorite little ones, but completely encouraging me to have a little time off. I feel renewed and encouraged to do the things that are most important in my life.