WiFi...yes please!

I'm sitting at the car dealership...not because I'm car shopping (I guess if you know me you know I love cars! It's always fun to look) but because I'm getting an oil change. Don't worry I am still loving my Mini Cooper. Especially since the gas prices are SKY high! I brought my laptop and am taking full advantage of their WiFi. Thank you very much. What better time to blog? We have had a busy week this week. I have been hunting for the perfect job. There isn't a lot out there in case you were wondering. But if I could nail it down to one profession or field it might be a good starting place. LOL! I think that's the part that is making the search a bit harder. I have a lot of options. I'm choosing to look at that as a positive. There are a couple of things that I am praying about right now and so we will see where the Lord leads.
This past weekend the kids were with their dad who was in town. I picked them up Sunday afternoon and took them to our favorite restaurant for lunch. Chinese of course! As the waitress sat us at a booth...they wanted to all three squish in on one side. As I was sandwiched in the middle they kept hugging me and squeezing me and Tanner looked up at me and said..."Let the hug-fest begin!" It's good to be missed my friends. Very good. When we actually sat down to eat I sat across from them in the booth because there was not really enough room for us to fit and Chloe kept climbing under the table to come over and hug me...she kept saying "I just can't help it Mom...I just have to hug you!"

It's good to be loved and missed. Very good. And since I can't seem to post a blog post without some photos...these film strip photos Chloe took of the two of us. (Using the PocketPhoto app on my iPhone.) She is currently obsessed with taking photos. Gee I wonder where she could have gotten that from? ;)

And just because today is a beautiful day and we have a weekend forecast calling for 80 degree weather...thought I would share a picture of Minnesota weather. Hmmm...so nice to NOT be there! :)

So very grateful!

Where have I been?

Well there have been some BIG changes for the 3 Musketeers! First of all...if you didn't know we are back in Illinois. The land of warmth! After a LOOOONG and freezing cold winter in Minnesota I am beyond thrilled to be home again. Yesterday it was 83 degrees. Seriously. It doesn't get better than that! So much has happened since my last post in January!! I really don't know where to start!

We just celebrated Tanner's birthday party last weekend...he requested a "green frog party" which was a breeze to pull of with the help of my Slice die cut machine. (I am still squealing with all the fun I am having with that silly little cutter!) I made the kids pose for a very green picture before the party got started.

Then a silly face picture...oh my...their teacher is a saint, because these kids are FULL of energy! LOL!

Green paper lanterns, and frogs dangled from the chandelier. We made a frog craft that was fun, and had green cupcakes and green mint chocolate chip ice cream.

This tree house was one of Tanner's gifts that I had gotten for him and I thought after he opened it that it would be the perfect place to house all of our green frog cupcakes! The table was also filled with green snacks. Green grapes, green apples, strawberries and a little candy too. I apologized to all the parents as they picked up their kids as they were very wound up! :)

I will be forever grateful for the sweet, precious boy that the Lord blessed me with 8 years ago. He is a true GIFT! His love for life and art and animals is contagious. I can't help but be excited for the things that he is passionate about. I don't think Tanner will ever wonder what he wants to do with his life. He is absolutely fascinated by so many things. He has so many God-given gifts and talents...and I love him like crazy!

I will be making these...

Are these not the sweetest little treats you have EVER seen?

Found HERE. Well friends, there is much to report from the Stork house here in the frozen tundra of Minnesota. I plan to do some explaining this coming week. And since we are moving...I will just have to post a few photos of the house that I took before I started tearing it apart. :) For now, here's to a new week and specifically a fresh new Monday...full of new mercies. Hope you had a great weekend! :)

Two zero eleven!

I just can't seem to believe that it's 2011! Where did last year go? I blinked my eyes I tell you. I am not a person who is intent on making resolutions that are hard to keep and goals that make me feel pressured. However, I am a "reflector." I like to take a step back and look at things and remind myself of what's important and who I want to be in the coming year. In my time of looking back there are a few things that I zeroed in on right away. First of all, last year at this time I was teaching my kiddos a scripture each month. A simple scripture that we said before we ate our meals. We are reinstating this scripture learning time...It's going to happen this year. Oh yes. I've already talked about it with the kids. The other thing that I am working on figuring out is giving the kids some more responsibilities. I am so used to doing everything for them...that it's high time they pitched in and helped. I would really like to train them so that they don't have to be asked to help bring in groceries or clean up their room. It would be automatic. I am questioning doing an allowance or a reward, as I really want them to "want" to help. Without rewards or bonuses. When I was their ages...I had chores and jobs that my parents expected of me and I never once resented them for it. It was just what was expected. I think for the most part that your kids want to meet your expectations. So I'm going to set mine on the high end. Of course there is the always popular "I'd like to lose 5 pounds" resolution. However working as many hours I work a week...there is absolutely NO way I can work out. I have tried every angle. Until the big trade show at the end of the month is over with at least. And as I sit here and type with a box of mint Oreo fudge cremes sitting next to me...I definitely didn't start off the new year eating healthier. ;)

SO...I have been such a bad blogger. I will share the Christmas festivities with ya! We went home to Colorado this year which was such a treat! It's been 2 years since we had been with the entire family for the holidays. The kids had a blast with their cousins and I got some great bonding time in with my favorite people. There just wasn't enough time to see everyone before it was time to turn right back around. I really didn't have any time off of work either, so we had to get back. We headed home on my birthday.

We went ice skating on Christmas Eve and had a blast. Chloe is a natural and I couldn't believe the improvement she showed! Tanner and I worked on the basics. Me skating backwards and him working on moving forwards. And if you're wondering if I fell. Well the answer is yes. Just once. It was enough. Holy cow...ice can be brutal!

 Papa with his favorite kids. I love this picture!

 Tanner with his "walker" or maybe we should name it a "skater?" Whatever you call them...it helped! :)

 That night Christmas Eve with the whole family was a blast! Chloe got the Swim With Me Puppy she has been wanting for the past 2 years. Unfortunately the first bath they took together didn't go so well and the puppy wouldn't turn off when you pushed the button on his collar. It kind of freaked her out and so she hasn't played with it since. She wants to take it to a swimming pool she tells me. Hmmmm. We might have to arrange that! :)

Tanner and his wild hair from running like crazy with my little nephew Caleb. I really like the sweet people in the background of this photo. So sweet!

Christmas morning was full of more Christmas surprises! The kids opened their stockings and since the rest of the adults weren't quite ready to get started I gave the kids a bath before we started the presents. Looking back at these photos it just seems so strange that they don't have bed head and aren't in their jammies. LOL! Chloe got this Olivia doll from Nana and Papa. She loved it!

This toy was $7.99 and it was at the top of T's list. If only it would stay that way! I am not ready for the day when they are asking for smart phones and ipods. I love their ages!

Working in the scrapbook industry meant that I scrapbooked on the airplane on the way home from Colorado (not for fun...but for work.) So you know when my niece mentioned to her mama that she wanted an American Doll craft set...I had to get her the scrapbook of course. Holly says she is already working on it. She just needs to take a photo of her room to put in it. So cute! I sometimes think of when they are a bit older and we can all sit around an scrapbook and enjoy each other's company. It's going to be fun!

Colorado was kind to me...mid 50 degree weather made me even more homesick for the Colorado sunshine. Tanner exclaimed as we were driving to my parents house from the airport "I can SEE the GRASS!" We haven't seen the grass in MN in months! As we returned a video to the Red box tonight it was a mere 6 degrees and much colder than that I'm sure with the wind chill...this too shall pass right? Spring has to get here someday. With 37 and a half inches+ of snow just in the month of December...I think I've reached my quota! Happy New Year my friends...may it hold all of God's richest blessings for you!

Possibilities...

Trying my hand at the positive...glass half full perspective today. Looking towards all the possibilities that are ahead. So far December has been a whirlwind. My focus this week will be to enjoy all the fun that this season has to offer. The kids are just full of the Christmas spirit and I am really trying to get on board. All I can think about is everything that I have to do! :) I tell you, I learn things from them everyday!

I will make friends with you December...starting now.

Sharing a few photos from my date with Tanner at his school gingerbread house making party. He told me before the parents left "Thanks Mom for coming today...I really appreciated all of your help." It was lots of fun! My first time volunteering in his new classroom (3o kids and all.) His teacher is a saint.

And in other weekend news...Minnesota's weather officially sucks. It has been snowy and stormy for the last 3 weekends. When is a girl ever to get her Christmas shopping done? Seriously? This is a shot that Chloe snapped on Saturday out the 3rd story hall window. We got at least 18 inches of snow Fri-Sat and had blizzard conditions to go with it. I had a 5 foot drift in my font walk...today was 12 degrees below zero. NOT a fan. Especially after chatting with my sister who informed me it was 60 degrees at home in Colorado.

But I will remain to have the "possibilities" mind frame this week. After all, it could not snow again the entire winter. OR warm up to say...I don't know...above freezing?? That would be nice!

Hmmmm...

Those are the thoughts running through my head tonight. I am sitting amongst a pile of boxes (yes I still have them everywhere!) but most of these boxes are Christmas decorations so that makes things a little bit better. My parents had to leave this week which is always such a bummer. I seriously cried when I hugged my sweet mom goodbye...in front of everyone eating lunch at Noodles & Company...and I didn't care who saw it! I enjoyed them so much! So I am trying to get the house picked up today and I am happy to report that all 4 loads of laundry today are folded and put away. I hung pictures in the kids room which was fun, and it's finally starting to look like home in here.  Since I never got a chance to share the photos of Thanksgiving and my parents visit, I thought I'd better do it before Christmas! LOL!

When we used to live with my parents before moving to Illinois, my Dad would buy us donuts every Saturday. The kids called it "donut day." They would frequently ask if it was "donut day." So it so happened that Nana and Papa were here on a Saturday so we just HAD to keep the tradition alive! Here we are at the Starbucks that's inside of my new Super Target. You can see the parking lot from the 3rd floor of my house! :) Love having it so close!

On Thanksgiving day, my new bosses had us all over to their house for an amazing feast! We all contributed and my Dad made a fantastic turkey (just like he always does.) The cutest guest award definitely goes to their sweet pup "Brinkley." He has stolen my heart I tell you.

This girl is pretty cute too though! And tonight she read me an entire book that she didn't know! I am amazed at how fast she is learning to read! Amazing! She also won the "Citizen of the Month" award at school for being an outstanding student! (Pretty impressive for it being her first month there and the fact that there are over 600 students!) She was so excited and got her picture taken to be hung on the wall in the front hallway. I can't wait to see it!

The adults table...minus me. Did you notice my sweet friend Amanda and her husband Eric? Super excited to have them around again. We are going to have SO much fun!

After dinner Papa entertained the kids with some conga-line fun! He is always doing something silly to entertain them. They had a blast!

Papa told us that he and Halle (my niece) had made up "fist bumps" for each month this fall. Novembers was folding your hands in prayer (being thankful) after the fist bump part. Here he is teaching Tanner the proper technique.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Where has the time gone??

I must apologize for my enormous lack in the blogging dept! My parents arrived safe and sound Tuesday evening and have been spending the week with us...attending grandparents day at the kids school, cooking a fantastic turkey for Thanksgiving and also spoiling us rotten. I do mean rotten. Not like a $4,000.00 shopping spree rotten, but more like a "I'll paint some of your hideous walls a neutral color" rotten. Let's just say the house I bought had an "interesting" color scheme. Now if you have walls painted this color...please do NOT be offended. To each their own I say. I love color. LOvE. But the previous owner had painted my walls every shade of ugly. I mean not just once...but there are at least 4 coats of paint on any surface that has been painted. Right now I would like to give some mad props to Behr paint with the primer in it. Because other than my Dad who is doing all of the hard painting...it's pretty much my hero right now. Awesome...with a capital "A."

This hideous green wall is no longer...it is now painted a beautiful shade of grey. Hallelujah! I walked in Saturday afternoon and thought I must have walked into the wrong house...that is how much of a difference it made! Don't get me wrong...I love green, in fact it's my favorite color. But this green with burgundy, gold yellow, and turquoise painted under it...was just TOO much. The kitchen and the powder room has the darkest turquoise color painted all over it...and that will be transformed tomorrow also...I WILL be showing the transformation! Next up after that is the kids room. Oh my word...of all the walls in this house...these are hands down the worst. I would show them to you because I have taken before and after shots...but blogger isn't letting me post any pictures anymore. Boo!

You'll just have to stay tuned I guess. I also have lots of fun Thanksgiving photos to share and so I will end by saying that I hope you all had a beautiful Thanksgiving! I have so much to be grateful for!

Monday!

Did you see that all my old posts have arrived! Woo hoo! The whole blog switch-a-roo was a little more complicated than I had anticipated. But Elaine (now new owner of Freehand Scraps) is blog savvy and she hooked me up! Thanks Elaine!! As we were trying to come up with a solution to swapping blog names I was reminiscing about all these years of blog posts and how much they really mean to me. It's been an online "journal" of sorts and I am so happy to have it all here. They say a picture is worth a thousand words...but with the words...they absolutely take me back to the moment I wrote them. How I was feeling, what was running through my head, and how much my life was changing at that time. I can't tell you how therapeutic it has been for me. I went from being married and being to a stay-at-home mom to a single mom who was taking on the biggest adventure of her life up to that point. Starting a business and trying to make sense of what was left of the pieces of my life. Sometimes I would write a blog post just to encourage myself. To remind myself that the sun would come out tomorrow! To focus on the strength that I knew God had promised me if I would just trust in Him. I learned so much, I grew so much, I had the highest of highs...and seriously the lowest of lows of my life. I am so grateful for this little place to just be me. And be real for heaven's sake! After all, life is just whizzing past. I'm so happy to have a little slice of our lives here. Thanks for reading...

and for cheering me on...and believing in me. You have blessed me so much more than you know. 

Seriously...

Saw these on Design Sponge...and am in love. If you collect globes like I do, this would be such a lovely addition! Don't you think? The one that says Bon Voyage is pretty awesome.

I think the "peace" themed one is pretty much perfect. Take a closer look HERE.

Snowy Saturday...

After a busy, busy work week I was really looking forward to today. NO plans, and snow in the forecast...means a guaranteed day at home! Just what we all needed I think. Even my silly dog was so excited that we were home with him all day long...he just kept coming over and playing with all of us...or at least trying to talk us into throwing a toy for him. The kids watched cartoons this morning as I continued to unpack. Seriously...as I was unpacking boxes...I just wanted to throw a ton of stuff away! I'm not sure how some of this stuff made the cut and got packed into boxes to make it all the way here. I cannot believe how many toys we have! I went through a bunch of books and toys and made a donation box. I just can't stand clutter and being stressed out by all of our "stuff!"

The kids played in the snow and sledded down the small hill in our front yard. They loved it, and finally came in for some lunch and hot chocolate. The temperature is supposed to be in the 30's all week long with more snow fore casted so it looks like there will be a lot more snow to play in. I just hope my little car gets us to church in the morning.

The best part of the snow today...besides being beautiful...is that I did not have to shovel. The association takes care of that. Hallelujah for snow removal. But I didn't get any photos taken and I do regret that. Maybe I'll get a few tomorrow? Hope you are warm and cozy!

P.S. I got this posted before midnight!! Woo hoo!

It's nearly midnight...

Why on earth do I only have time to post on the blog here at midnight? My bed is calling my name, but I still want to remember this day. It was busy and stressful at work today and I almost forgot to pick the kids up for school on time. I was one of the last mothers there. (Not a great feeling!) But they were happy as clams when I got there chatting with Chloe's new teacher all about how dogs can die if they eat chocolate and Mrs. Brandeen was telling them that if you give them hydrogen peroxide it makes them throw up and saves their lives. The kids thought that was fascinating.

They are excited everytime we pull into the garage that there is the possibility that there could be a dead mouse in a trap. So weird.

Chloe is eating bagels and cream cheese like they are going out of style. It's never a question what she wants in her lunch everyday. Don't even bother to ask if she wants turkey or peanut butter and jelly. It's always a bagel. I'm fairly certain I could wrap some up for Christmas and she would be over-joyed! :)

Tanner brought home a book tonight called "The Little Panda" which we have read the past 2 nights. He says now that the panda is his favorite animal and rode to school with his stuffed panda on his lap and played all afternoon with it. When it was nearly dinner time he came in and gave me a big kiss on the cheek and asked in his sweetest voice if we could please eat dinner at Panda Express? Of course the stuffed panda came also and one of the employees there told him she would trade him dinner for the panda. Tanner wasn't game, so she told them if they ate their dinner she would bring them both a treat. They both got a free chocolate chip cookie and I have a feeling they will be asking to eat there a lot in the future.

I cut Chloe's super long hair last night and we can finally brush through it again easily. It was out of control long. She wakes up in the morning and looks like she lived through a tornado.

I was uploading my iphone photos the other day and found roughly 245 photos that she had taken the first day we moved in to our new house. I thought it was super interesting to see the things she thought were worthy of taking photos of. Here are a few.

My new couch! :)

Looking through these just makes me laugh, those 2 bring joy and laughter and life and brightness to my life everyday! Just remembered I haven't made the kids lunches for the morning yet. Better wrap it up here! Good night!

So. Very. Tired.

This will be short and sweet. I am SO very tired. I have a mile-long to do list. It's really overwhelming. I have a house that is painted every shade of ugly. And there are at least 2-4 coats on nearly every wall...except for the closets. So it's hard for me to visualize the end result. I like what is in the works so far....but it's hard to hang any kind of picture on a wall that's so ugly. The ugliest room is the upstairs bedroom. The nicest room is my bedroom. Wasn't that nice of the previous owners? Oh my word. I have so much work to do. I can't wait to show before and afters...it's going to be EPIC. (By the way that is my word of the day today...I put it in a few emails too. I haven't used that word in forever.) I need some time to get those plans underway, not to mention pick out paint colors. I spent 2 hours last week scraping with a putty knife, none the less, glitter glue off of the hard wood floors in the kitchen. And today I caught the 5th mouse in the last 3 weeks in a trap. Tomorrow is another day...and it's a good thing Jesus is waiting there for me with new mercies.  I'm ready for it!

Ahhhh...a new home!

ahhh...a new home for the little blog. A new home in Minnesota. A new school for the kids. A new job to top it all off. I have to say that I am more than a little over-whelmed. I haven't had to juggle being a single mom and working full time up until this point. To top it all off, the kids have both been sick with colds since we moved (TWO WEEKS!) they are more like the colds that NEVER end! Tanner's turned into an ear infection. Not to mention that we are still trying to find a schedule that works for us all. It's amazing how a change in location can do that to you. But instead of dwelling on the boxes that I still need to unpack, and the worries I have through all of this. I am focusing on the positives. Like how much fun we are having here!

We have a park that is right next to our townhomes. The kids are BIG fans. The dog barked his head off at anything that moved while we were there but it was otherwise pretty uneventful. We walked all the way out to the middle of the lake on the dock and back again. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

You can barely see the dock that leads to the water, as the sun was setting, and as Tanner was planning all of our future fishing trips. I thought to myself how blessed I am.

I should have taken my real camera because the light was good and the weather was warm, and the kids were having so much fun.

How was your weekend??

Second Try...

Apparently I am blogger challenged! LOL! Sorry everyone for the redirection...so glad you stopped by!

Freehand Scraps Newsletter!

Wow! It feels like it's been forever since I sent out a newsletter, so I hope this finds you all doing well. If you have been following the blog then you will already know that I have accepted a position working for October Afternoon as their Marketing Communications Manager, and that we just moved to Minnesota. Talk about BIG change! I had been thinking about what I would do with Freehand Scraps and was pretty sure that I might be able to find the time to put together some project kits and keep up with it on a part time basis. However, I found that there wasn't much time to even unpack the house...let alone put together kits! (Can I get a good amen from all of the single Mom's out there?) Seriously, there are not enough hours in the day! LOL! So I was approached by my good friend Elaine about the possibility of her taking over Freehand Scraps. I knew I wasn't going to have the time to dedicate to it and make it great, and so Elaine is the new owner of Freehand Scraps! She is so very excited to get started and to "meet" all of you! I am confident that she will provide you with the same awesome customer service and creative inspiration every month that you have come to expect from Freehand Scraps. We truly have the best customers! She has updated the website with her biographical information and is ready to hit the ground running beginning with a brand new kit for January! I can't wait to see how cute it all is! She will be sending you out a newsletter with more information and will also be taking over the Freehand Scraps blog. So from here on out if you want to follow my new blog you can find it here. I hope you'll come over and stay in touch, as I will miss you all so much! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your support and friendship...I am truly grateful!

Catching up!

Hello my blog friends! Just stopping in quick to let you know that I finally have internet at my new house here and am super excited to get all of you caught up to speed on the latest with me and also with Freehand Scraps! :)
We said goodbye to our "Illinois family" and packed up a big moving truck and put smiles on our faces, and left. (Especially me as I am trying to show the kids my positive attitude about it rather than shed tears about all that we'll leave behind.)
It's a 7 hour trip so napping was involved...which made for a nice, peaceful road trip. :)

We are getting settled, and I am trying to juggle everything and get unpacked and organized. The kids were excited for trick-or-treating this year, I don't think I have ever seen them running from door to door quite like this year. Our neighborhood has some awesome houses in it...they had fog machines and decorations that put Pottery Barns catalog to shame. Seriously. I have never seen anything quite like it. We had a blast!
Tanner was an astronaut this year...hence his slight obsession with space and anything related! Chloe decided at the last minute to be a ladybug...I told her how smart she was because it was a really warm costume. Minnesota is not warm my friends, and it kind of feels like winter already here. I was warned though, and am hoping that I toughen up as the time passes. :)
She was very concerned that her nose and freckles (liquid eye-liner...and it stayed perfectly all night!) would get rubbed off. And was the cutest little bug ever!

And here is a picture of our new house!

I'll be back tomorrow with more news...in a newsletter to update you on the latest with Freehand Scraps! Stay tuned...and I hope you had a great day!