Shabby Apple Dare to Design Limoncello Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Shabby Apple Dare to Design Limoncello Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!
Wow, Katheleen - How gorgeous. Best wishes in the contest. The dress looks so beautiful.

Quick Check-in

Man, what a crazy week. Last week ended with lots of rain (Thursday thru Sunday morning) but spent the day with my girls at the Please Touch Museum. We were there for hours and it was pretty empty. Had a great time and they both fell asleep in the car.

Tuesday Derrick & I had a beautiful anniversary lunch (9 years!!!) at the Waterworks Restaurant. Really nice the way they re-did everything. We used to go there 10 years ago all the time when no-one else was there.

And while the rest of the week has been just gorgeous, what do you know, more rain to come tonight and tomorrow. Well, gotta clean the house anyway for our little Halloween Party (that Brie's been planning). But we hoped to take the girls to some parks, spent some time outside. We'll see!

Brie got her school pics back yesterday. Not too crazy, about the bit of hair standing up on the side (don't they make sure that their hair's brushed down) but sooooo much better than last year. - WOW, do these pics show how much she is growing!!!

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Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!
OMG!!!! These costumes are just unbelievable. The details are mindblowing. Would like to know where the shots were taken. Great location. You are so so so ... talented. I think I can sew but looking at your creations, I'm an amateur.

FINALLY!!!

LOVING MY NEW BLOG!
Still not final - would love to get a pic of the girls in that grid space on the banner but Photoshop is like learning Chinese for me. I just don't understand that lingo - IMAN, where are you to help me???
Otherwise nothing new today. Can't wait to upgrade my blog some more in the next weeks and months to come - well, gotta keep myself busy at work, and I'm not a digital scrapper, so can hardly do that (or for that matter, sewing) at work.
OH, and Kristine, just wanted to let you kniw that the girls got huuuuuuuuge smooches when I got home. Brie just giggled, when I told her it's from you.

Happy Happy Birthday!!!

This one goes out to Kristine - Wishing you the best of Birthdays. Hope you get a chance to enjoy your special day despite the circumstances. Was hoping to brighten your day earlier in the morning with this memory below but it didn't work out that way. (Both Harrison & Erika are working here, now!!! - Yipppeeeeeee!!! - Wait til Alicia finds out. I'm gonna surprise her tomorrow with the news.)

Anyway, hope you're having at least a little more fun than usual. Happy Birthday again - I'm thinking of you!

XOXO, muffin mom

Orange Poppy Necklace GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Orange Poppy Necklace GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!
Are they gorgeous or what. I love "stuff" like this. I personally would either pick the "autumn poppy" or "solana beach". But the green/ blue floral one is my absolute favorite!!!

Back from Space

I think I have a really good chance in winning if there were such a thing as "The worst blogger award". I now that my life is not that crazy compared to some other mom's schedules but man, do I wished that I could stop time and just catch up to everything on my lists.

Last week was a top notch crazy one though: On Tuesdays after Nadya's speech therapy, she locked the car from the inside without me noticing it. I buckled her into her seat, shut the door and then then it just went "CLICK" - and I new a mommmy nightmare just happened. Trying not to panic and terrify Nadya (who actaully seemed to think for the moment mommy the whole situation was really funnny), i started brainstorming - most neighbors where of at work (and if you didn't guess so yet, yes, my car keyes, house keys and cell phone were all in the car, which I am usually overly careful of never doing), but I did remember seeing one neighbor's car who is usually way gone by now (it was about 10AM). I ran over there, and thank heavens (GOD does work in mysterious ways - I must have said a million prayers a minute) he was home and let me use the phone to call 911. I don't even think that they help people if they locked the keys in the car but I think the fact that my two-year old was in the car, made it an emergency. (Turns out, his wife just locked herself out of the house a short while ago, with their infant in the house and had to call the cops as well.)

Anyway, long story short, 1/2 hour later or so, the nicest cop ever showed up and "rescued" my little trouble maker. When I had returned from the neighbors, she didn't think that the situation was still funny. I tried my best to entertain her and I think she did really great.
My heart was pounding so hard, I could still feel it after arriving at work.

And not enough, I was at a committee meeting that evening and daddy was in charge. After returning home the girrls were still not in bed, Brie had a religion test the next morning, but since the teacher wrote down the wrong chapter to study, we spent hours trying to figure out why she's supposed to study for a chapter they haven't even covered yet. And no, that was not it, when Briella changed into her PJ's (I was at the mtg) I was told that Nadya took her blouse. Well, and the next morning that blouse was no-where to be found. Brie had to wear a size 4 (she's 7 - thank God a small 7) to school. Nadya denied all day hiding her sisters blouse. the search continued after arriving home that day. No blouse anywhere (at least, the next day was gym day). That evening, when Brie aksed me to get her some PJ's, I went into her drawer, and guess what I found in btw a drawer full of PJ's - you guessed it, her white blouse!!! Now you asked yourself, why does she only have one blouse? The school just swiched from the fall to the winter uniform and it's a new school, and the blouse we have was the only one in her size that I got my hands on, after running to several stores.

Although, our days aren't always that extreme, that's my life! I really do miss not having my parents, siblings or any other family around.

On top of that, my camera is broken again. They'd better send it back before Halloween or I'll be one MAD mom. Last time I had to send it in, I was whitout a camera for 6 weeks (one of the roughest 6 wks of my life).

Brie's school doesn't seem to be working out that great. I finally gave in and paid almost $4000 for a private school and it's like going from aggravated for free (if not counting the school taxes) to paying $4000 to be aggravated. So this afternoon I called in mtg with her teacher. Let's see how that will go.

Despite all this though, there things all around me that show me that life goes on and eventually things will work themselves out. After Nadya being locked in the car and me stressing to get het to my in-laws (she spends the days there) and rushing of to work, I asked for just a small sign of hope for brighter days (my work is really a large stress factor in my life) and while I was on my way to drop her of, I noticed in the distance, but not too far, an opening in the clouds and the sun rays passing thru it as clearly and beautifully as can be.

The falling leaves, the birds leaving us, the full moon up with the sun, right across from each other, when I drop of my kids in the morning, ... that's life too!!!

Well, this should really make up for my lost days of bloggin. And as soon as my camera will be back, I'm planning to put all my layouts and some fantastc new mini's have been working on on my blog. Can't wait to check that of my list.

Happy Tuesday everyone!