Nice to meet you, buddy!

While we were shopping, some of the funniest moments of the weekend happened. Here's how it went:

MILLA: (While pointing at a mannequin with no head who was modeling spring fashions at Old Navy ...) I want to say, "Nice to meet you, buddy."

GRANDMA: Well, get in the cart, and we'll go over there.

MILLA: (While shaking the hands of three mannequins standing next to each other at the front of the store ...) Nice to meet you, buddy. Nice to meet you, buddy. Nice to meet you, buddy.

Meanwhile, Cassie and I wander to the back of the store to look at baby clothes. Then later, while we were in the clearance section of women's clothes, Milla decides it's time for more handshaking.

MILLA: I want to go find more Nice-to-meet-you Buddies.

GRANDMA: OK, let's go.

MILLA: There's one. (While turning toward it ...) Nice to meet you, buddy.

OK. That repeated a few times, and then we checked out. On to Kohl's ...

After looking at some stuffed animals at the front of the store and persuading Milla to sit in the stroller, we were walking toward the back of the store because Grandma needed a picture frame ...

MILLA: (Noticing a mannequin ...) Hey, grandma, those women have heads!

There was much laughter. Apparently, Milla was so excited about the complete mannequin that she didn't want to shake her hand and say, "Nice to meet you, buddy."

In Bloomington

We went to visit Cassie and Zac in Bloomington, Ind., this weekend. We hadn't seen them since Christmas, so catching up in person was really great.


We told Cate on the way there that it was probably her last trip in the facing-backward car seat. We're putting the other one this week for a trial run. If she likes it, then it's on to Louisville this coming weekend in it!

When we got to Bloomington, we got to meet Divi. (That's DIV-Y, like some flower in Aruba, where Cassie and Zac went on their honeymoon ...) She's one hyper kitty, but she didn't make me sneeze, so I wasn't bothered!


Cate liked Divi, but she was still cautious of her furry friend ...



Now you see why!

Then Mom, Kevin and Milla came up Saturday.


Milla loved feeding Cate. Although I think Cate might have eaten more than her 4-year-old cousin!

And then there was the holding ...


We tried to get a picture of them together, but Cate tried to escape a couple times, but Milla managed to get her back!


Cate wasn't so sure, but she tolerated it.



Milla definitely wore Divi out. She was a much calmer cat after Milla left!

Then there's the boys ... Kevin got a Wii for his birthday, so that served as great entertainment while us girls shopped and Cate napped.



Apparently the Wii wore the guys out too! Kevin and Greg caught a quick nap, despite the chaos of Cate, Milla and Divi, and us taking pictures of them.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall ...

Cate has recently discovered how fun mirrors can be, especially now that she can pull up to the one in our bedroom by herself ...


And not long after playing she realized she could watch me in the mirror without turning around!


Seeing her kiss herself in the mirror was pretty entertaining, especially because she did it several times.

bath time

These rub-on letters are high on my list these days. I'm hoping to get some more when I go to Archiver's when I'm in Louisville in April.

sweet things

I'm really loving the shapes that Cricut can make. Those flowers are a shadowed flower with a silhouetted flower on top using George.

Happy Easter!

I want to preface this post with informing you who may not know that we attend a church that takes the expression "come as you are" literally. Many people wear jeans. And as soon as the weather gets warmer many guys will sport khaki shorts. I looked around yesterday and noticed a lady who isn't a nurse in scrubs. (Hey, they're probably comfortable!) Anyway, also when it gets warmer ... THEN Cate will sport cute dresses.

I just didn't see the sense in buying an Easter dress when she's going to be out of one size soon and in another size to wear one day on a rather chilly weekend. So instead I opted for some cute jeans and a spring shirt. And the great thing about the jeans is she'll outgrow the length before the waist, and then I can roll them up and fasten the cute buttons that make them capris!

OK, disclaimer over ... onto pictures!


Cate is rather unsure about whether she wanted to humor me with a smile, but her daddy didn't hold back!


Cate enjoyed the empty, plastic eggs ...


... for quite some time.

And Ethne played the piano.


And, yes, she had an "Easter dress." Their family dresses up for church and Ethne is old enough she chooses to be a princess most days!


Later in the day, Elijah and Ethne hunted plastic eggs, which probably weren't empty like the ones Cate continued to play with inside.

Making Friends

Katy, you inspired me again ... This time to use a solid background. Then I used ribbon and buttons to bring out the colors of the pictures.

Good Friday

Although not necessarily in celebration of Good Friday, we had a cook out with some family yesterday. And, let me tell you, the kabobs Greg's cousin Serenity prepared were tasty, especially because I'd actually been wanting some beef and veggie kabobs! (Kabobs really is a strange word ...)

I didn't realize Greg and his cousins were into croquet. OK, so maybe "in to croquet" is a bit dramatic. Even so, they knew how to play. And were competitive about it. But, of course, they're competitive about most things.




Cate even cheered with cousin Zori ...


while Elijah and Ethne cheesed!



Although slightly more entertaining than being a spectator at a family croquet game was watching Cate decided whether she should touch the grass. I sat her down, wanting to see if she'd crawl. Well, she tried crawling on her elbows once, but then she spent her time inspecting the grass.


Um, not so sure ...


While looking at her grandma, I'm pretty sure Cate was thinking, "Are you sure you won't pick me up?"


No luck. So she went back to trying to figure things out.

Cate's Playmate ... Better?

Thanks for your feedback, fellow scrappers! Now, do you all think this is better? Teaque, my ribbon selection just wasn't working on that page for me ... I didn't have the right shade of blue and the pinks weren't doing much for me either.

Any more suggestions?

1, 2, 3 ... What do you think?

I'll tell you that I am pleased with one of these pages, semi-pleased with another, and wanting some input on the other. Should I tell you which one is which or let you, fellow scrappers, just comment away? Let's start with comments ...




OK, if you'll still help me out and comment, then I'll tell you what I think ...

The snow page is my favorite of the three. I am pretty excited that I figured out how to make my text be in a circle! (Katy, you inspired me!) I like the Valentine page, especially the colors. I wanted to keep is simple because I like the picture so much.

Then there's "PLAYMATE" ... It just seems to be missing something and I don't know what.

Don't feel bad if you don't like the snow page and think it needs work or if you think the Valentine page is missing something too. Really. I'm just telling you what I think.

Because you're going to tell me what you think ... YOUR TURN!

Now Playing: Creative Mess

I guess now you know where I've been spending my afternoon ...



(Those flowers seem to match more on the real page. The color seems a bit distorted in this photo ... but you get the idea!)

M-S-U!

I told you the basketball version was on its way ... so here it is! And my photos arrived shortly after I finished cleaning my area.

Orange Dream Cheesecake

I enjoyed this light, sweet snack from Kraft Foods, and it's low on fat and sugar.

1 honey graham cracker, crushed
2/3 cup boiling water
1 pkg. (4-serving size) sugar-free orange Jell-O
1 8-ounce pkg. fat-free cream cheese
2 cups thawed lite Cool Whip

Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs into bottom of 9-inch pie pan sprayed with cooking spray.

Stir boiling water into dry gelatin mix in large bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Cool 5 minutes. Pour into blender. Add cheeses; blend well.

Pour into large bowl and gently mix Cool Whip. Pour into prepared pan. Smooth top.

Refrigerate 4 hours. Makes 8 servings.

SERVING SIZE = 1 piece
EACH SERVING = 100 calories; 3.5g fat; 10g carbohydrate; 8g protein
EXCHANGES = 1/2 starch; 1 lean meat; 1/2 fat

Coming Soon: Creative Mess

Hopefully the 45 4x6 and 6 5x7 photos I ordered from Snapfish will come in the mail today so I make use of my clean scrap area. I'm caught up and ready to make a creative mess ...

Meet Amilia

My college friend Kelly came to Murray for a visit Friday afternoon, and we got to meet her daughter, Amilia. Cate is about four months older than Amilia. How sweet is that face?

Luke needed another lady, so he came to play. (Luke's mom, Jaclyn, is a friend from the same college group!)



... As you can see, getting the three of them to pose was quite a challenge.


Cate had plenty to say to Amilia, even this morning after they'd just gotten up!

07

I confess: I'm addicted to ribbon. At least right now as I decorate the covers of my albums. This album (which is January to September 2007) is now finished. The one that follows, which will go through February 2008 or so, will probably have a cover much like this one.

Now I just need a bookcase that has wide enough shelves to house them ...

Racer Fan

This page fills the remaining slot among my 2007 pages. I was going to just do one page on going to Murray State games in general, but I decided I have too many cute basketball pictures to lump them with these two from a football game. So, here's the football version of "Racer Fan." No worries, a basketball version is still to come, and probably with more journaling because Cate was much more into the atmosphere at the basketball games, which admittedly are more entertaining!

album cover

Hey, fellow scrappers (and anyone else with an opinion ...), what do you think? Does it need anything else?

That's ribbon wrapped around the cardboard part of the album. Then I sewed some buttons onto the ribbon. When it came to the flowers. I decided just to stitch through the buttons and flowers and then used glue dots to adhere them. The sewing was tedious!

Sickly Sweet

I was glad to be sitting at my scrap table today, even if I was documenting our sickness last month!

Tex-Mex Steak & Rice

I made a chicken/pasta recipe last night that was terrible. Greg tried to tell me it was good, but when Greg doesn't finish a plate of pasta, I know something isn't right. I never tried to tell myself it was good. Anyway, so in light of a not-so-good recipe, I'm going to share my favorite from last week. I'm definitely making this one again ... and soon!

1 1/4 pounds beef boneless round, tip or chuck steak
1 cup beef broth
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups bell peppers and onions
1 cup uncooked instant rice

Cut beef steak into 4 serving pieces. Place beef in slow cooker. Mix broth, tomatoes, cumin, salt and garlic in medium bowl; pour over beef.

Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Stir peppers, onions and rice into slow cooker. Increase to high heat. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes or until rice is tender. Makes four servings

SERVING SIZE = 1 1/3 cup
EACH SERVING = 330 calories; 5g fat (2g saturated); 37g carbohydrate; 34g protein
EXCHANGES = 2 starch; 1 vegetable; 4 very lean meat

a fitting centerpiece

I hosted a baby shower for Jaclyn and her baby, Norah Grace, who is expected to arrive on/around April 21 ...



Who needs a traditional centerpiece when you have stuffed animals? It was a baby shower, so it fit the theme.