Slippers And Ink

Girl Scouts

2012-01-15T11:53:00.001-05:00

Saturday was the Cookie Carnival for the local Girl Scout troops to kick off cookie sales. Ciah decided she wanted to attend. Being the awesome mother I am (cough, cough) I took her. Needless to say, she had a blast and won a few prizes to boot:)

Tammy
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John and his goddaughter

2012-01-01T12:55:00.001-05:00

John's daughter was baptized today. Love this picture....

Tammy
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Happy Birthday John!

2011-12-31T10:07:00.001-05:00

Tuesday was my hubby's birthday. This is the card I made for him.....

Tammy
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Favorite Christmas Ornimate

2011-12-16T12:09:00.001-05:00

John's aunt gave us this Ornimate the year after Marcail passed away. Needless to say it is my favorite of all on the tree.

Tammy
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Got Milk?

2011-12-14T20:55:00.001-05:00

The girls were eating ice cream the other night. I looked over and seen these faces and knew I had to snap a picture. They just looked so happy and a mess at the same time....

Tammy
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My Hubby

2011-12-03T17:33:00.001-05:00

I never write much about my hubby, John. I don't know why, because he is an awesome, loving and caring man. He loves the kids and I and works hard to provide for us. So I'm taking a moment to say "THANK YOU John"!! Love you......

Tammy
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Zackery

2011-11-29T17:56:00.001-05:00

Hard to believe Zackery is 10 years old already. He has been home 9 years now. Needless to say, he keeps life interesting....

Tammy
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Might help if I add the photo

2011-11-22T15:54:00.001-05:00

Tammy
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Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-22T15:53:00.001-05:00

Kami had a feast today at school. She was excited she got to wear an Indian headpiece.

We hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones...

Tammy
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Seth.....

2011-10-24T21:32:00.001-04:00

Seth is going through a phase where he does not want his picture taken. I talked him into this one as he is wearing a new hat.

Tammy
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Ballet

2011-10-18T17:43:00.001-04:00

This year at Ciah's school they offered a ballet class for the first graders. Since Ciah loves to dance we decided to let her join. I snapped this picture today after we got home, hence the wild hair.

Tammy
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A Day Off From School

2011-10-07T13:37:00.001-04:00

What do you do when you have the day off from school? Crawl into Mom's bed and watch Max and Ruby;)

Tammy
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When Bored...

2011-10-03T21:48:00.001-04:00

What do you do when you are bored? Put lipstick on you little sister the wrap up in a blanket:)

Tammy
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Championship Game

2011-09-28T21:19:00.001-04:00

Sunday was the Senior League Championship Baseball game. Seth was on one of the teams that played and they WON!! Needless to say, he was pretty excited about the win

Happy Birthday Kami!!

2011-09-24T15:59:00.003-04:00

Today we celebrated Kami's 5th birthday. She has come a long way from when I picked her up from the orphanage. She is in kindergarten and enjoying every minute of it. Although I think she enjoys the socialization more than learning her letters......lol.

Tammy

Remembering...............

2011-09-11T08:59:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday Zackery!!

2011-09-09T14:06:00.002-04:00

This past month Zackery celebrated his birthday. He is now 10 years old. My how time flies. This week he celebrated being home 9 years:). We are very blessed to have him as our son.......

Tammy

Giveaway

2011-08-29T17:52:00.002-04:00

A gal I follow on twitter is having a great giveaway. Go to the following link and enter to win an awesome planner: http://clemsongirlandthecoach.blogspot.com/

Tammy

First Day Of School........

2011-08-15T08:57:00.002-04:00

Today was Kami's first day of kindergarten and Ciah's 3rd day of first grade. I snapped this picture of the girls before they left this morning. Needless to say, it was an exciting morning in our house:)

Tammy

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T13:46:00.001-04:00

From my family to yours...........

Easter

2011-04-26T16:50:00.002-04:00

Happy Belated Easter. This was taken up at John's parents church. Why they still have a Christmas stocking hanging there is beyond me. Oh well, gives me a chuckle:D.

Tammy

2011-04-18T19:14:00.002-04:00

The lady finally gave me the disks with Seth's baseball pictures on it from last year. Thought I would share one:). I may have to post some action shots in the future.

Tammy

2011-03-27T10:08:00.002-04:00

Look who lost their first tooth!! She lost it 3-11-2011 and Spring school pictures were taken 3-13-2011..........sigh. I was hoping for one more set of pictures with all her baby teeth. Needless to say, she was so excited it finally fell out (at school) and the tooth fairy could visit!!

Tammy

2011-03-06T19:13:00.002-05:00

Seth played basketball again this year for his school. This is the official picture. Of course, being 13 it is not cool to smile..........lol.

Tammy

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-01T13:04:00.001-05:00

From our house to yours............

Tammy

Cousins

2010-12-14T11:18:00.002-05:00

On Thanksgiving Day both my niece and nephew were present, so we decided it would be a good time to snap a picture of the kids together. Back Row (L to R) Seth and Amy. Middle Row (L to R) Eric and Zackery. Front Row (L to R) Kami and Ciah. Needless to say, they had a grand time hanging out together...........

Tammy

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2010-11-23T12:40:00.002-05:00

Every year the kindergarten class has their Thanksgiving Feast. One class dresses as Pilgrims while the other dresses as Native Americans. I snapped this picture of Ciah this morning before she left for school. Needless to say, she could not wait to get to school to show off her costume.....

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!!
Tammy

Happy Halloween!!

2010-10-31T10:55:00.002-04:00

Last night was trick or treating here. My sister and her son came down for a visit and Eric was able to go trick or treating with the kids. Needless to say, they all had a blast:).

Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!!
Tammy

Happy Birthday Kami!!

2010-09-20T19:55:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday Kami!! Hard to believe my baby turned 4. Seems just like yesterday she came home (age 2). Needless to say, I think the pictures says it all.........lol.

Tammy

Preschool

2010-09-11T08:17:00.003-04:00

Kami started preschool this week, so I quick snapped a picture her first day. She is loving preschool and always has a big smile when I pick her up at the end of her day. I cannot wait to see what all she learns as she starts a new adventure in her life:).

Tammy

Happy Birthday Zackery

2010-08-19T15:32:00.002-04:00

Last night we celebrated Zackery's 9th birthday. Hard to believe he is 9!! It was just yesterday he was 1 and being placed in my arms. Happy birthday Zackery we hope it was a good one!!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

2010-08-12T14:40:00.002-04:00

It was the first day of school today. I tearfully sent Ciah off to her first day of kindergarten. It just does not seem possible for her to be old enough to start school. I tried my best to talk her into staying home with me, but she would not hear of it. She knew I was joking and kept telling her brother that he was right, I didn't want her to grow up........lol. Zackery started 3rd grade and Seth is in 7th grade this year. How did I get old enough to have a 7th grader?!? Before I know it, he will be in college............sigh.

Tammy

Happy 5th Birthday Ciah!!

2010-08-04T10:27:00.002-04:00

Party Girl

2010-07-11T12:15:00.003-04:00

Impatiently waiting for Daddy.......

Tammy

4th of July

2010-07-03T12:12:00.003-04:00

Hope everyone has and wonderful and safe 4th of July. We will be spending it at home and later in the evening joining my BIL and his family to watch the fireworks. Nice restful weekend:)................

Tammy

Doodlecharms Throwback Challenge

2010-06-24T15:19:00.002-04:00

A scrapbook page I made with the Cricut cartridge Doodlecharms for Creative Time with Emma's Throwback Thursday Challenge. Am hoping to get a good picture of the kids this summer to put on the page:).

Tammy

Happy Gotcha Day Seth!!

2010-06-15T18:44:00.002-04:00

Today was Seth's 12th "Gotcha Day". I will never forget standing in the airport in New York waiting on him to pass through customs. When he finally came around the corner, my hands were shaking so bad, I could not get him out of the stroller....lol. Thankfully the lady that met the plane and escorted him through customs took him out and placed him in my arms. Words cannot begin to describe the emotions and feelings that hit when his little head came to rest on my shoulder. The mounds of paperwork, police checks, and what seemed to be the endless wait was over. I had my son in my arms:). Now he is 12.5 years old and I wonder where the last 12 years have went.........

Tammy

Red, Blue and Brown My Creative Time Challenge

2010-06-10T13:18:00.005-04:00

A simple red, blue and brown layout for Seth's baseball picture. He has been playing the catcher position some this year and doing quite well at the position. Needless to say, I'm proud of my boy:).

Tammy

Wordless Wed.

2010-06-09T20:41:00.001-04:00

2010-06-06T18:15:00.001-04:00

Can you tell she has older brothers? Wonder which one taught her this move.......lol

Tammy

My Creative Time Throwback Challenge

2010-06-03T15:00:00.003-04:00

A card I made for Emma's My Creative Time Throwback Challenge. I did not have the Animal Kingdom cartridge, so I use the Create A Critter cartridge with my Cricut machine. Love how the lion looks like he is walking down the "black carpet" for his close-up............lol.

Tammy

Wordless Wed.

2010-06-02T16:53:00.002-04:00

6 Years Ago...........

2010-05-31T09:34:00.002-04:00

6 years ago today we said good-bye, unexpectedly, to our daughter Marcail. You were an angel here on earth for the 2 years. Heaven sure holds a special angel now. We know you are the most beautiful angel and we cannot wait to see you again........

Love you and miss you,
Mommy, Daddy
Seth, Zackery
Ciah & Kami

My Pink Stampers Father's Day Challenge

2010-05-28T12:22:00.002-04:00

I made this card for the Father's Day Challenge for My Pink Stamper. I do not have a lot of male oriented stamps, so I decided to make a more elegant card.

Tammy

My Graduate

2010-05-26T17:48:00.003-04:00

As part of the school pictures, they took one of Ciah in her cap and gown. Love the little tassel that says 2010 on it...........

Tammy

Ciah Graduates

2010-05-21T14:33:00.001-04:00

Today Ciah graduated from preschool. Does not seem possible, as it was just yesterday her birth mom was giving birth to her!! Needless to say, her Daddy and I are so proud of her:)

Tammy

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T09:10:00.001-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms!!

Tammy

My Pink Stamper NSD Challenge #4

2010-05-01T15:42:00.002-04:00

The inside of the card says "A Cherry Hello"..........

My Pink Stamper NSD Challenge #1

2010-05-01T14:27:00.001-04:00

A Mother's Day card for a challenge for National Scrap Day.

A Card For My Best Friend

2010-04-20T17:44:00.003-04:00

I made this card for my best friend, who lives approximately 4.5 hours away. The inside says, "Let's Hang Out" :)

Tammy

Easter Sunday

2010-04-09T19:13:00.001-04:00

The girls enjoying a chat with their Papaw before the Easter Sunday service.

Tammy

Easter.....

2010-04-04T09:16:00.001-04:00

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!!!

Tammy

It's Spring!!!

2010-03-20T16:48:00.003-04:00

Since the weather was nice here today we all headed outside. Kami decided she was going to join Seth in a game of baseball. I do not know how those little arms were holding up that wooden bat, but she got a few swings in:).

Tammy

An Irish Blessing for St. Patrick's Day.........

2010-03-17T09:53:00.000-04:00

Wishing you always,
A wall for the wind
A roof for the rain
Tea beside the fire.
Laughter to cheer you
Those you love near you
And all that your heart might desire.

-Irish blessing

Finalization Day

2010-03-08T16:34:00.002-05:00

Today at 9 am our youngest legally became "ours". Granted, she has been ours, in our hearts, from the moment we seen her picture, but it is always nice to hear the judge say what we already know. Needless to say, it has been an exciting day..........

Tammy

Late Wordless Wed.

2010-02-18T21:28:00.001-05:00

2010-02-13T17:59:00.003-05:00

A simple card I made for a friend for Valentine's Day. I do not have the name of the stamp set, but it is a Stampin' Up set.

Hope everyone has a sweet and Happy Valentine's Day!

Tammy

Wordless Wed.

2010-02-10T21:03:00.001-05:00

Ciah Impressing Her Brother

2010-02-05T21:29:00.002-05:00

After receiving 5.5" of snow my 12 year old went across the street and borrowed his cousin's sled. Up until the point of this video, he had been going down the hill with Ciah. It was so sweet seeing him excited when Ciah braved up and went solo:).

2010-01-31T16:48:00.001-05:00

A card for another My Pink Stamper challenge. This is a retired Stampin' Up stamp set. Since my sister likes cats it is the perfect card for her:).

Tammy

My Pink Stamper Challenge Card

2010-01-29T18:13:00.002-05:00

A card I submitted for the My Pink Stamper Challenge. The challenge was to use black as one of your colors.

Tammy

Yee Haw

2010-01-26T14:17:00.003-05:00

A card made with Stampin' Up paper and ink. I used the Just Jeans background stamp and the stamp set Yee Haw. It was colored with Prisma Colored Pencils.

CASed Snowman

2010-01-17T08:47:00.001-05:00

I seen this snowman on a blog (sorry I do not remember which one) and had to have the digital image. Bought the image and made the cute snowman. Thinking of using it as a thank you card:).

Tammy

In Heaven..................

2010-01-10T18:28:00.002-05:00

Tea heaven that is..........lol. About 3 weeks ago I ran out of the tea I had brought back from India. Yes, it has been 14 months since I have been back from India and I just ran out of the tea. I had one huge suitcase packed full of the stuff. Yes, I know, I am addicted. Sorry Lipton, you just do not cut it anymore. You haven't since I set foot in India 7 years ago and had my first taste of there. Anyway, I came home yesterday and there was a box sitting in the kitchen waiting on me. Inside.................... my tea from India! Needless to say, I have been savoring every sip I take:)

Tammy

Birthday Boy...........

2010-01-04T18:44:00.004-05:00

My oldest baby is 12 years old...........sniff, sniff. How did this happen. It was 11.5 years ago I was standing in a New York airport waiting on the escort to walk down the hall with him, after coming through customs. Now we are celebrating his 12th birthday while he tries to act cool. But Mom still sees a hint of the little guy sitting in the stroller taking in the airport activity. Happy Birthday Seth, I hope it was a good one.............

Tammy

Chef Kami

2009-12-29T18:41:00.003-05:00

My hubby snapped this picture of our 3 year old Christmas Eve. She was pleased as punch when she got her turn at putting the hat and apron on....lol.

Tammy

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T17:39:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas to you and yours!!

Tammy

Favorite Christmas Card........

2009-12-21T15:30:00.003-05:00

This is my favorite Christmas card I made this year. Home for Christmas is the stamp set used. It is a Stampin' Up set.

Tammy

My Oldest Is Growing Up..............

2009-12-12T11:47:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it......... My oldest will be 12 next month....sniff, sniff. It really hit me last night when I dropped him off for his first dance. The Snowball Dance. Then this morning he informed me of all the girls he slow danced with. My baby slow danced with girls..........sigh. Hope they realize how lucky they were to have danced with him!!

Tammy

A Simple Card...............

2009-12-09T17:05:00.003-05:00

I made this card for my niece. Simple to highlight all the coloring I had to do:).

Tammy

Have To Brag On My Hubby..............

2009-12-03T11:42:00.003-05:00

I am so proud of my husband! He decided about a year ago that a great way to honor the memory of our friend, Emily, was to build a Habitat For Humanity house in her memory. On Tues. the house was dedicated. Here is a link to a small statement on a website that Emily's friend wrote........... http://www.lexingtonprosecutor.com/?p=2335

Tammy

Happy Thanksgiving.......

2009-11-24T17:21:00.001-05:00

We are getting ready to head off to my parents for Thanksgiving. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!!

Tammy

The Dreaded Phone Call.........

2009-11-14T15:58:00.003-05:00

It is the phone call every mother dreads............ Mrs. M. you need to come pick up Ciah, she has had a little accident on the play ground. She needs to be taken to the emergency room!! Uh, we go from "little accident" to being told the "emergency room"? No big deal, I inform them I will be right there to pick her up. So I'm driving to the preschool to pick her up thinking they are making a mountain out of a mole hill. When I arrive the preschool director is outside waiting on me, which I thought was odd. She scurried over and gave me a report on how Ciah was doing and what they had done to stablize the arm. I walk in and there she sits, on her teacher's lap. They had taken a disposable rubbermaid lid (the blue see through kind) and had a gallon ziplock bag of ice on top of the lid. They then had a layer of paper towel ontop of the ice, then Ciah's arm on top of the paper towel. They had then taken gauze and wrapped it around the whole get-up. When I walked up to her, I tried to look in to see her arm, but all I could see was her finger tips. I asked her to move her fingers and she did with no problem. So I'm still thinking they are blowing this all out of proportion, that she just sprain it and they were covering their butts and being careful.

So I load her up in the truck thinking about what I'm going to do. On a fluke, I called the doctor's office. I figured I might as well pay the office co-pay opposed to an emergency room co-pay, since it was probably just a sprain. As luck would have it, they had an opening at 1 pm and it was just after noon when I called. In my mind I was timing the drive and hoped that arriving early would allow us to get an x-ray and be seen and that way I could get back in time to pick the boys up from school. We arrive 30 minutes before our appointment time and sure enough, the doctor is eating lunch in her office and they got the verbal orders for us to go ahead and go downstairs for an x-ray. We go back into the x-ray room and they proceed to say we needed to remove her arm from the ice to take the x-ray. So we gently slipped her arm out to find a nice odd angle about 2 inches above her wrist. So I knew from looking at it that is WAS broken, it was just a matter of how bad. Would it require surgery or would they be able to just adjust it and put a cast on it.

I love modern technology, as by the time I got her back up to the doctor's office, they already had the x-ray results upstairs and they were in the process of calling the orthopedist. So the only problem I had now was what to do with our 3 year old. There was no way she would sit still while they were setting Ciah's arm. Thankfully their dad's office is across the street from their peds office. So I was able to drop the 3 year old off with the secretary and John left his job site to go pick her up. One of the nice perks of being part owner is when it is an emergency like this, he was able to also pick up the boys from school.

Once we got to the ortho. office, they decided they would need to set her arm at the same day surgery center down the road. We had to wait until 4 pm for them to set it, as they wanted to "knock her out" and she had a cupcake around 10 am that morning. So by the time we got to the same day surgery center and they got her checked in, clothes changed and arm marked, it was almost 4 pm. They gave her some medication to make her loopy, and when they went to take her back she was a brave little girl and did not even wimper. She just held onto the mask they were going to use and off she went.

Within an hour, I was back with her in the recovery room. Since they knew I was a nurse, they let me go back and sit with her before she woke up. Which was nice as it kept her from crying, which is very normal for kids to do when they come to. The funnniest part was when she noticed her nice green full-arm cast and the look she gave it.

We finally pulled into the driveway at 6 pm that night. Needless to say, we had an early night as there is nothing harder than waiting to get back to your child. Part just to be able to hold them and assure yourself they are alright. The other part is to be able to assure them that you have not disappeared. Are we upset that she broke her arm? No. These things happen. She could have broke it here at home the same as she did at school. It was just one of those fluke things that can happen and did. Although, I would have bet any amount of money it would have been my 8 year old who would have broken a bone. I have always said, it is not a matter of "IF" he breaks a bone, but a matter of "WHEN", as he is so active. I never guessed my 4 year old, quite, little girl would be the first of my children to do so. I just hope she doesn't start a string of events......lol.

Tammy

For Halloween.........

2009-10-31T19:47:00.001-04:00

I called this one Distressed Eye of Newt........lol.

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo.............

2009-10-20T14:32:00.004-04:00

Another card with my new favorite Stampin' Up set, Rustic Rooster.

Something A Little Different...........

2009-10-15T14:54:00.002-04:00

I liked the design of this stencil and tried to chalk it. Added a few brads and this is what it ended up looking like. I doubt I will be using the whole design again, as I think it is too big..............

Tammy

Whine, Whine, Whine

2009-10-14T21:06:00.001-04:00

Who forgot to tell me that when girls turned 4 the whining started? One minute a certain 4 year old is acting so grown up and the next minute she will whine about everything. I think when the teen years hit I am moving out..........lol.

Tammy M.

A Cluck, Cluck Here.......

2009-10-11T11:46:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the bad picture, but it was the only place in the house light enough to get a good picture of the color. I got this new set, Rustic Rooster by Stampin' Up, and wanted to share a simple card I made. I may have to try one with more color, as I am loving this set..........

Tammy M

Christmas Mouse

2009-10-09T09:42:00.003-04:00

I came across this digital image and had to purchase it and color it in. Not too thrilled with how the overall card turned out, but had fun with my Prisma colored pencils:).

Tammy

Just When You Think You Have Heard It All......

2009-10-07T21:07:00.002-04:00

John was reading the paper tonight when he called me in to read this to me..........

Ala. teen found riding in box on van, mom charged.

Albertville, Ala. (AP) - An Alabama woman has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child after police say she let her daughter ride in a cardboard box on top of their van.

Alberville Police spokesman Sgt. Jamie Smith said the 37-year-old woman was arrested Sunday after police received a call about a minivan on a state highway with a child riding on top.

Smith said the woman told police the box was too big to go inside the van, and that her daughter was inside the box to hold it down.

Smith said the mother told officers it was safe because she had the box secured to the van with a clothes hanger.

The 13-year-old daughter wasn't harmed and was turned over to a relative. A jail worker said the mother was out on bond Monday.

Needless to say, my jaw dropped when he started reading the article to me, but I had to pick it up off the floor when I read, "secured with a clothes hanger". I was expecting him to say bungie cords, but a CLOTHES HANGER?!?!?!

Cute Painting Set

2009-09-24T20:16:00.003-04:00

This is a cute set by Hannah Stamps. As soon as I seen the set, I knew I had to have it. In real life it does not look like she is painting on the hanging picture. I probably should have moved the wall hanging over more. Oh well, next time:).......

Tammy M

Happy Birthday!!!

2009-09-20T11:42:00.003-04:00

Today our little one turns 3!! It has been an amazing 10 months and 14 days since we walked off the airplane in Lexington. To watch her grow and "blossom" (as my MIL put it) has been an experience John and I will never forget. In the short time she has been home, we have seen her personality come to light, to match that little glint that has always been in her eyes. She has amazed us with learning the English language at a pace we never expected. She can now put together 5 and 6 words. There are very few times she cannot express, in English, what she is trying to tell us. Considering English is one of the most difficult languages to learn, I find it amazing she has discovered the "slang" and puts it to use. For example, "oh man", "get back here", etc.

Needless to say, we are head over heels in love with this little girl. We have watched her siblings love and accept her the moment they set eyes on her. There is something about watching your "cool" 11.5 year old tell a 2 year old that he loves her and openly gives her hugs and kisses on the cheek. Then again, to see the same 11.5 year old tell his 2 and 3 year old sisters to come outside and play baseball with him just melts my heart. How did I get so lucky to be the mom to 3 angels and 4 great kids?

Tammy

Just A Swing'n..............

2009-09-19T20:06:00.005-04:00

This is the perfect card for this week!! The other night I was talking to John when our 4 year old wanted her cup filled up. I walked over to the fridge to fill her cup up with water when I seen a shadow move by my foot. I automatically jumped back midstride and looked down to see what I had missed. There scampering across the floor was a MOUSE!!!!! It was slipping and scampering across the floor and headed to my stove. It was moving so fast it had to do a nose dive to keep from running head first into the stove. So it flattened itself and slid under the stove. All the while I was doing some scampering myself..........right behind John.

I HATE mice. Did I mention HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE them? I think it stems from growing up in an old farm house. We always had mice and they always seemed to not mind coming out whenever they liked, no matter how much noise was going on. So I was always jumping on chairs or table tops to get away from them. It just became a habit when I seen or heard one to jump and make my "I see/hear a mouse" noise. Anyway, I was making that noise and John went into his "calm down"mode and donned on his "let's fix this" face.

Where are the mouse traps? Ut oh............ It's 10:45 at night and we have no traps. Time to act sweet and beg for hubby to be my hero and make a run to the store......lol. I guess he knew he might as well go to the store or he would not get any sleep. Any noise that sounds like a mouse will wake me from a dead sleep. So while he went on his trap run, I got the cat in the house. I figured the mouse would smell the cat and cower under the stove until John got back.

When John came home, he set 4 traps, then we turned off the lights and TV. Off to the bedroom we went and sat on the bed to listen for the "click". It wasn't 4 minutes and we heard it. Of course, John was just smirking and said he was going to go see what bait it went for. Apparently he had put peanut butter on some and roast beef on the others. He figured it had went for the peanut butter. We were very surprised when it turned up in the roast beef trap. I did not know mice went for that type of food........ So needless to say, I was able to get some sleep that night.

I know some people will say a mouse trap is not the humane way to dispose of mice. I'm sorry, but I HATE them, always have and always will. I admire people who can catch and release a mouse. But my theory is, if you catch them and release them, they will head right back in!! John said the one we caught was a female and I have a feeling it was trying to come in and make a nest......ick.

Anyway, the traps are still set and I have my 2 ultrasonic boxes plugged in with 3 more on the way to me. I have read reports that the boxes do not work, but we have lived here almost 12 years and have only had 3 mice in the house. Each time one has gotten in the house, I have had the boxes unplugged. So I am a firm believer in them. I just need to remember to go back and plug them in whenever I remove them to use the outlet..........

Tammy

Back To School Card

2009-09-09T12:34:00.002-04:00

I was in a "crafty mood" but was short on time (more like NO time), so I quickly threw this card together. I had my daughter give it to a teacher, who was heading back to school, she had helped keep an eye on her at the ball park. I like the set from Stampin' Up, but have not been able to sit down and put it to good use.......

Tammy

2009-08-21T13:32:00.003-04:00

My All-Star

I thought I would share a picture of the reason for my absence. We have had a summer full of baseball games. Then much to my son's delight, he was chosen to play on the All-Star team. Of course, we were are so proud of him, as the players have to be nominated and voted onto the team. His dedication to practice his swing, catching and pitching have been paying off. Of course, his mom hitting him all those ground balls did NOT have anything to do with his short-stop skills............lol.

Wild Month

2009-05-26T13:02:00.001-04:00

It has been a wild month here.... Can you believe we were ROBBED?!?!?! The guy got away with over $1000.00 worth of stuff. I had ran down to rent out a storage unit to a couple of guys. While I was down there, I drove along and wrote down the unit numbers and sizes to put into a computer program I had bought. When I pulled into my driveway, there was a guy putting John's weed eater into the back of his truck. I just happened to be talking to John on my cell phone, so I asked him if he had sent anyone from a job site to pick up the weed eater. The guy acted like he was suppose to be in my driveway picking up the weed eater. He just looked at me straight in the face, put the weed eater in the back of his pick-up truck, turned and casually opened his truck door, got in and put the truck in reverse. By this time, John had told me to hang up and call the "cops". When John had said he did not send anyone over, I had put my truck back in drive and moved back into my driveway closing in on the guy, to pin him in between my deck and my truck. But there was enough room between the front of his truck and the deck for him to squeeze through. When I seen he was going to go through my yard, I was going to follow him, but decided against it. The area he was heading, there was a good chance he would get stuck :). So I slammed my truck in reverse and flew out of the driveway backwards. I met him at the edge of my yard as he was hitting the road. I double checked the license plate number and he got a head start out of the subdivision as I was writing the number down and dialing 911. Then I was off on his tail seeing where the little weasel was heading. Our subdivision is off a highway and there is always traffic, so I just knew he would have to wait at the stop sign. Wrrroooonnnngggg................... I was the one who had to wait on traffic........grrrr. Needless to say, he got away:(.

When I was after the guy, I thought he had just taken stuff out of the garage, but after getting back to the house, I discovered he had been in the house. That is where he hit the jackpot. If I had not been going through magazines, tearing them apart, getting coupons, etc. he probably would have gotten my laptop. I had just happened to have placed some of the pages I was going to throw away on top of my laptop and that kept it from plain sight. Thankfully I returned home before he could get to the master bedroom where my engagement ring and gold bracelet were. People ask me if I feel violated that someone was in my house and the answer is "no". I'm use to people being in and out of my house. I'm just irritated I wasn't able to pin the little weasel in so I could get our belongings and his little butt be put in jail.

When the state trooper arrived, he said that the license plate was expired. It was not even registered to the vehicle it was on. They had tried other letter/number combinations and those resulted in tags appearing in towns all over the state, nowhere near hear. So they are certain (as am I) that the number I gave them was correct. He told me to keep an eye out and if I ever seen him around, to call 911, since I can identify him. Needless to say, every older, black Ford Ranger I see, I check out the driver to see if it is "the weasel"!! To date, I have not seen him yet.........

The next day, a F-3 tornado touched down 2 miles from our house. Thankfully all we experienced was heavy rain and some wind. We did not receive any damage. But some of the "landmarks" I am use to seeing are gone. There was an old concrete gas station that someone had turned into a car repair shop that was totally destroyed. Fox News mainly focused on the subdivision that was hit. This subdivision has homes on larger lots and the majority of the homes have some damage. I did not hear how wide the tornado was, but given the size of the subdivision it hit and the number of homes damaged, it must have been pretty wide:(. Thankfully we were spared, as here at home there were no warnings. Seth was upstairs and the rest of the kids were in the kitchen with me. Who knows what would have happened to us if it had hit..................

Enter To Win

2009-05-07T08:59:00.002-04:00

My favorite author is having a give away on her blog. You can win a copy of her latest release, which I mention in a previous entry. The book is titled "Love Finds You At Last Chance California". The instructions on how to enter can be found at her blog:

http://miraleesdesk.blogspot.com/

Tammy

Strep Throat X 3

2009-03-23T20:22:00.002-04:00

Yip, count them, not 1 or 2, but 3 kids with strep throat!! I keep waiting on the 4th (oldest) to come up and start complaining his throat hurts with a nice high temp. Not that it makes me feel any better, but apparently it has been going around the school and Zackery must have brought it home to "share". Now as long as they do NOT share it with me:).

Interesting Day......

2009-02-24T20:28:00.002-05:00

This morning around 1 am, my 3 year old woke up wanting something to drink. So being the (hack, hack) awesome mom that I am (hahaha) I crawled out of bed to get her one. Walked into the kitchen to a floor full of water. Looked over to the counter and there was my Beta fish vase tipped on the side. You know there is a mess when a night-light shows this. So I flip on the light and there is my Beta laying on the floor. So I grabbed some towels and clear a path (hey, don't want to get my socks wet....lol) to the fish vase and flip it up. There is a little under 1/2 the water left in the vase....yeah. I don't have to stand and fill it up if he is still alive. So I go over and reach down to grab the Beta. It does a little jig so I know it is still alive. I grab it and go to pick it up and part of it's tail fin is stuck to the floor.....ack. Another little flip and it is loose and back in the vase.

What happened? Well......... a certain cat is in BIG trouble!! From what I can gather, he jumped upon the counter and decided to check out the Beta vase. In the process he tipped it over. He must have known he was in trouble, as he did not EAT the fish. How long did the fish lay there? I do not know. The only thing that saved him was a small amount of water under him. Talk about luck....lol. So needless to say, he isn't exerting much effort today to swim around and is just taking it easy. I expected to walk into the kitchen at any point during the day and find he had croaked. And to think, the only reason the cat was in the house was due to the cold weather. He is so old, I have been taking pity on him and letting him sleep in the house at night.

To add to the day, the girls went upstairs, a few hours ago, thinking my oldest son was up there. When they discovered he was not to be found, they decided to play on the bunk beds. The only problem is, our oldest had pulled the mattress off the top bunk (again) and took it into the rec room to sleep. The 3 year old decided to show the 2 year old how to climb up to the top bunk. All this was going on while I was helping the 7 year old with his homework. Next thing I know, the 3 year old is yelling for us to come and "help". So the 11 and 7 year old hit the steps first. No problem, they can get their little sister out of their "stuff", right? Nope, the 11 year old is yelling for Dad to come. Up the steps go my hubby. A few seconds later he is yelling for me to go up.......sigh. So up the steps I go thinking, "what could possibly be going on that a grown man cannot handle"....lol. I get to the top of the steps, walk into the bed room and there is the 2 year old. She has slipped down between the metal bars that hold the mattress!! The only thing that is on the "top" of the bars are her arms and head. My hubby was trying to get her to lower her arms and tell her to turn her head sideways to slip between the bars. For starters, her English comprehension is not far enough along to know what "turn your head" and "lower your arms" mean. All the poor girl knows is she can't go up or down....lol.

I walk over to the bed trying to figure out WHY he thinks her head will fit down between the bars. Between trying to give her instructions, he is asking the 3 year old "HOW she got UP between the bars". Taking pitty on her, I proceeded to tell my hubby that her head will NOT fit down between the bars. His reply? "Then how did she get it UP there?". HELLO!!!! She fell DOWN between the bars". His reply? "Then she will have to come up to get out" DUH!!! So I got on the bottom bunk, held her butt while we pushed her arms up through the bars. He was able to grab her arms and pull her up and out. Needless to say, she needed some TLC:).

I think I am going to round the girls up early and put them to bed. I figured after that bit of excitement, the best place to keep them out of trouble is in their beds sleeping.....lol. Thankfully they haven't had any episodes of sleep-walking.........yet........lol.

Ice, Snow & Wind

2009-02-15T18:49:00.003-05:00

Wow, what a difference a few weeks make!! We were without full power for 4 days!!!!! We had to spend the first night without heat..........brrrrr. It was so cold our little one brought me her coat to put on her. I told my sister that you know it is cold when a 2 year old, from India, brings you her coat....lol. But my awesome hubby brought a company generator home and we were able to have heat and run a few lights. My BIL and his family had to bunk out here one night, as they had lost their power, but had it back within 24 hours.

No sooner did the ice melt, then we got a few inches of snow!! We rarely get snow that sticks around long. The kids loved it and so did mom:).

This past week we had strong winds along with a tornado warning. The boy's school let out, but the county schools held the kids until the warning expired. It was a fast moving storm and we were lucky we did not have damage to our house or property.

This picture was taken out my deck door. It shows the damage to my neighbor's trees in his back yard. Thankfully we do not have many trees in our yard, so we did not have to worry about clearing branches...........

Good Book To Read

2009-01-26T22:11:00.003-05:00

Looking for a good book to read? The author is Miralee Ferrell and can be ordered from Amazon.com

Out To Lunch With Daddy

2009-01-20T17:23:00.002-05:00

John had to be in town today, so he took Kambrielle and I to lunch. Since I had the camera with me, I snapped a picture of her before we left. She enjoys one-on-one time with us so she has our undivided attention:).

2 Year Old Gone Messy

2009-01-14T11:51:00.004-05:00

I've decided there is something in the air here that has made my youngest go crazy. Yip, home a little over two months and she has caught a germ that has made her clean gene go messy!!

Last night I was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher. In she comes holding her hands out wanting them wiped off, along with a wet head. The "oh so intelligent mom in the house" starts asking questions in English. "Why are your hands wet?" "What have you been into?" Now granted, I"m 99.99% sure she understands quite a bit of what we are saying, but she just looks at me and doesn't say a word. Then my "Mommy knows something is up mode" kicks in and I see those little brown eyes start sneaking peeks toward the living room. Ahhhhh haaaaa my internal "this isn't good" alarm starts beeping and I head in the direction of those give-away glances.

What do I find? ALL of her apple juice from her sippy cup all over the flooring of their new play kitchen, all over the "counter" and in one of the play kitchen dishes. Thank goodness for cheap baby wipes!! So while I'm on my knees cleaning the mess, I revert to my Kannada/English combination of communication with her. So we will see how long it takes her to try something like that again. Yet I suppose we can look at the bright side...... She didn't roll her eyes at me when I was talking to her!! The little stinker started the eye rolling hours after I left the orphanage with her.

Tammy

Uggggg................

2009-01-12T17:51:00.002-05:00

Ever have the "never-ending crud"? I got this nasty bug after Christmas and I've still not kicked it. John keeps telling me he is going to send me to the doctor, but I just laughed at him. Not much one can do about a virus!! Although, I should hack on him and share it, since he so lovingly left me with all 4 kids in a Phenergan induced haze. Venting here, but WHY do husbands think the Mom can do it all and be sick at the same time? When he gets sick, he crawls in bed, sleeps for a day or two, while I keep the kids away, and bing, bang, boom, he is back on his feet feeling fine....grrrr.

So, I have not disappeared, I'm just dragging along with my Ginger Ale in hand. No crafting inspiration has hit either, which is probably a good thing. I have 2 sets of little hands that have decided to get into EVERYTHING!! A certain 3 year old has decided she needs to show a certain 2 year old every naughty thing she can think of. In the past week we have had White Out painted on my hardwood floors to conditioner smeared into dry hair. So to be on the safe side, the craft room door is shut with all scissors locked up. I hate to begin to imagine what she would come up with those in hand...........sigh.

Tammy

Mumbai Bombings

2008-12-03T14:46:00.002-05:00

Three years ago, my best friend and I convinced our husbands that we needed to spend 2 weeks in Mumbai. While there, we also got to make a side trip to the orphanage where our sons spent time before coming home. It was an awesome trip and one that I will remember forever.

But now those memories are haunting, as the hotel we stayed at was just blocks from the Taj Mahal Hotel. Almost everyday we would walk up to the Taj area. We walked through this hotel and visited all the stores. We said when we came back we would HAVE to stay at this hotel, due to the beauty of the decor and the private garden. Now when I think of us walking around the Gateway of India monument, I do not just think of the detailed architecture I seen, crowds of people trying to get close to see what details were inside the arch, or the boats leaving for a tour. I now think of the face of the terrorist, that was arrested, walking up to the area we walked around the monument. Did they bother to stop and see the beauty? Did they follow the same path we did to the Taj Mahal Hotel? Did they walk down the same street we did and cut across the street our hotel was on to reach their target away from the Taj? Were any people we seen/met among those killed? Are people visiting the monument today and looking at the steps I see in my mind? Is the area empty, like the beach in Chennai where the tsunami hit, due to fear? What about the women and children who sit around the monument selling flowers to help feed their family? More importantly, why all the hatred? Why did so many innocent lives have to be taken, due to a handful of men looking for individuals with passports from America and Great Britain or the lives taken at the Jewish center?

India is part of my children's heritage. They were born there and spent part of their life living there and I hope to take them back for a visit. Hopefully when my children are old enough, to deal with the poverty and emotions that come with returning to their birth land, that it will be safe for them to visit the unique and beautiful country they came from.

What I Have Been Up To :)

2008-11-21T17:30:00.005-05:00

Introducing Kambrielle Porvi M. She is 2 years old and from Bangalore, India.
I traveled to India to pick her up from the orphanage she was staying at. We arrived back home on 11/6/08. She loves to be held, gives hugs and has started giving kisses. She is adjusting well and bonding with us. She only speaks and understands Kannada, so hopefully she will start to pick up English soon. I know "yes", "no", "hello" and "mother" in her language. We do a lot of pointing and head nodding.....lol.

Blog Candy For A Good Cause

2008-09-26T20:29:00.003-04:00

Did everyone have a chance to check out Cammies (http://myblogbycammie.blogspot.com)awesome drawing for a cause?
I decided to send my uncle the last card I made. He also is affected with this awful disease, but he is still in the early stages and can enjoy some things. I figured he would get a kick out of it.

Tammy

Interesting Read

2008-09-22T19:05:00.002-04:00

I was sitting in line today waiting to pick the boys up. While I was sitting there this truck rolls past me and stops to speak with the campus police. It had quite a bit of witting and design on it, so having nothing else to do, I started reading. The side of the truck had the statement "Kentucky's Finest Hookers". I was thinking.....OOOOKKKKKKaaaayyyyy. Then I proceeded to read the tailgate........

On the left side it stated, "Support Your Local Hookers" and then the right side read, "Give Them A Tow Job". I thought I was going to fall out of my truck laughing. Nothing like creative advertising:)

Tammy

Halloween Card

2008-09-18T17:55:00.002-04:00

I made this card after receiving the set in the mail. It is a My Favorite Things stamp set.

A Different Creating Project

2008-09-04T17:09:00.003-04:00

Wow, feels like forever since I posted!! Not by choice, mind you.....lol. I had 2, yes count them, 2 computers crash on me within a month!!! The first to go was my desktop. That one was old, so it really wasn't too much of a surprise, just irritating. Then, I had a laptop, that my hubby was letting me use and it up and died:(. I kind of blame my hubby on that one, as he made me download Quicken Books onto the laptop and a week after that, it was dead. Needless to say, I was NOT a happy camper...lol. But my BIL came to my rescue and gave me a key to their house so I could go in while they were at work and check my email.

Anyway, onto something more fun. My sister and I have started a new little adventure. We are making "Mother and Daughter" along with "Daddy and Me" matching aprons to sale. I pick out the fabric combo. and purchase it and she takes the time to sew them. We then send them to a consignment store for sale. The first set we sent, sold within the first 5 days the store was open!!!

The apron that sold was a "shabby chic" look with pastels. Come to find out, the HUSBAND of the lady that bought them wears it to BBQ/cook. I would give ANYTHING to see a picture of that one.....lol.

This apron set is my favorite so far. The picture does not do the set justice at all:(. It is a rich yellow golden color and reminds me of Fall. I wanted to find material that could be warn anytime, but had that "fall feel" to it. Hopefully I succeeded and it will fly off the hanger in the store:).

Tammy