Happy Father's Day!

Today Jeff got to choose where he wanted to go eat and he got to go to the park afterwards with the girls. It was a perfect day for pictures! I even let him play with my camera a little! Happy Father's day honey!
If you would like to see more from our trip tot he park just click on the title of this post and enter the password: Jeff (case sensitive). I was using my new camera so I was still learning it's features!

A new member of our family....

No I am NOT having another baby, but look at this beautiful piece of machinery that my loving husband surprised me with this weekend. I had a big photo shoot today (a friend from FE was getting married and talked me into doing the photos) and I was sad because my camera had such low resolution and we couldn't get my new one yet. Then all of a sudden the UPS guy was asking for a signature and there was my camera! Jeff can be so sweet!
Now I need to dress up the girls so I can go play with my new toy before the next shoot....

Cake #1.

I've always wanted to take a cake decorating class. I've loved watching Ace of cakes and looking at pictures. My wedding cake was only #2 then my dress in my minds eye. So I finally found out that I could take an inexpensive class at Micheal's. I got the class for my mom in Arkansas for Mother's Day and I signed myself up here. I've been two times now and I love it. Here is a picture of the first cake I made for class. Next week is roses and flowers...ohhhh, fun!

Are you hungry?

Today after her breakfast, a healthy yougart and bowl of cereal, Sophy stated that she was still hungry and wanted cake. I think it had a lot to do with her father standing in the kitchen eating cake for breakfast. The cake is lemon and had no frosting (a mess up cake from attempting to make a smooth iced cake for class) so I thought "why not". Jeff cut her a small piece and put it on a plate. Unfortunately he chose a segmented plate that we use for dinner time. Luckily it only had two sections. She took a look at the plate and demanded that something be put in the smaller section. We asked her what and began looking for some sort of fruit that would fit int he small space. She piped up that she wanted "Ketchup". So I decided I'd put some on to avoid the tantrum and try not to look as she ate her cake. Sure enough she sat and dipped her lemon cake into her ketchup and cleaned her plate! Yuck! Jeff stood by giving me the play by play since I refused to look at her. By the end I decided this needed to be kept for prosperity so here is a picture of Sophy eating Lemon cake and ketchup.

Work Picnic

We went to Jeff's office Memorial Day picnic today. It was a lot of fun. They had a cook out and carnival style games like the duck pond, ring toss, and a cake walk. Sophy and Lola both won prizes and we even won in the cake walk! It was a lot of fun and we were able to meet a lot of the people that Jeff works and travels with. Jeff always likes a chance to show off the girls.

Pool opens!

Our pool opened yesterday! Since it was SO hot we decided it'd be fun to walk down and go swimming this evening. We only swam for about an hour, but we still had a great time. Both girls had fun splashing and playing. When we were done Jeff gave the girls a bath while I made us a late dinner. Sophy loved her carrots and grapes but didn't like chicken salad sandwiches too much. We gave Lola grapes for the first time (finally found a good price on them) and she chowed down on them. They are both now peacefully sleeping the sleep of very tired out kiddos! Now as long as my jet lagged husband doesn't decide 3:30am is the perfect time to get up and make noise I might actually get some sleep tonight!

Art

Today Trish took the girls and I to the OKC Art Museum. I had never been before but I have always wanted to go. They allow pictures without flash on the 3rd floor so I had fun getting pictures of Sophy. Lola was strapped down and doesn't quite understand "don't touch". Since I took so many of Lola on Tuesday it was nice to get some of Sophy.
Sophy seemed to enjoy looking at the art. She liked the "snakes" (some glass) and the abstract art. If you would like to see more pictures click on the title and type the password: Art (case sensitive).

Flowers!

After I dropped Sophy and her cupcakes off at school I saw a very pretty field of flowers near my house. I had about an hour to kill before I had to be at work so I decided to grab my camera and take some shots of Lola. She was wearing a cute dress that my mom had gotten for her and I thought it would be a great moment with her since Sophy wasn't with us. They turned out so cute! I'm glad that I actually acted on the impulse. Now I have the moment frozen to always remember. If you would like to see more of these photos just click on the title and type in the password : Flowers (case sensitive).

Summer cupcakes

Tomorrow is Sophy's last day of school (till Summer session). Since some of her friends won't be there for summer or even next year I thought I'd do something nice for her class. So I made these cute Cupcakes for her class and I'm sending goody bags. It's nice to do something nice every now and then, besides I had an excuse to practice my decorating skills.
I saw this recipe in a book a while back and thought "man that's cute, but who would want to eat that much icing?" the answer: A class of two year olds.

Dancing Queen

Sorry the video is sideways. It's my first time putting a video on here so you'll have to bear with me as I learn. This is Lola watching Dancing with the Stars.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday Mom/Tammy/ Nana! I hope you have a wonderful mothers day and a happy birthfday! Know that we are thinking about you and we hope to see you soon!

birthdays and holidays!

This last weekend I was blessed to get to see my grandmother celebrate her 70th birthday! This woman has always been such a huge influence in my life. Next to my mother she has had more to do with how I turned out and who I am today than anyone else. On this mother's day I'm glad to think of how important my mom is and how much she has taught me. I never fully understood how big a job she had till I had that job myself. To not only keep a kid a live but teach them how to be productive members of our society, loving caring individuals, aware and in love with our creator, and how to be a good mom on top of it all. I only hope that someday I'll be able to watch my girls as moms and know that I did my mom justice. I hope I turned out like my mom so my girls will turn out like her too.
I love you mommy!
(p.s. I made the cake, my first attempt at a tiered cake. I think it turned out ok, but I learned a lot for next time too!)

Contrary to appearances I do NOT beat my child.

Little Lola sat on a wall (couch actually).
Little Lola had a great fall (well tumble maybe).
And all the kings horses and all the kings men (uhmm, Jessica, the kids, and myself),
Couldn't put Lola together again (but we did stop the crying!).

Sophy's school program

Sophy had her first school program last week. I got her all dressed up and off we went. She sang her songs and recited her verse to us at home and on the way. She was SO cute. They walked her whole class in and she was sitting SO close to her friend Chase that I'm sure his parents didn't get a single picture of him alone during the show. She just sat and looked at all those people and not a word came out her mouth! It was so funny! She sang her song the whole way home though! Such a silly little girl!
Worst part of the night? i forgot to bring my camera! So I snapped a few pictures at home but I'm at the mercy of other parents from her school to get some pictures/video of the program!

Lola's birthday present....

Here's some pictures of the girls playing with a friend in one of Lola's presents! They all seem to really like it. It could use some more of those balls, but I'm not sure I want to risk having to clean up THAT many when the initial fun wears off and they decide to empty the whole thing in my house! It is nice to see how much fun they have in it and together too!

Happy Birthday Lola!

Here are the promised cake pictures! Hope you like them!

Party!

Lola's 1st birthday aprty was today. It was a small gathering and it went very well. I made the two cakes and some candies for the event. Both candy making and cake decorating are new to me, but I had a friend who had some experience and she came over to help and walk me through it. I think they turned out GREAT! Lola's cake was an applesauce spice cake and had soy frosting...so it was 100% dairy free. We had a much less healthy and much more tasty option for our guests! I can't wait till my skills at decorating are challenged again!
Lola got lots of great presents and had a very happy day. She got to go out for lunch and have her party and then after her nap she had friends over to play till late and watched movies! What a big girl she is!

Someone's turning one soon!

We went to get our 1 year pictures of Lola done on Tuesday. As always I'm posting my favorites that I didn't order! Can you believe that my baby is almost one? It makes me so very sad.
I of course got the traditional pics of her eating her cake, but I'll post those later!

Black olives....

Sophy has always loved Black Olives. Since they are rather good for her I have no problem letting her have several whenever I am cooking with them. The other night as I made a salad for me and Jeff She saw the can sitting on the counter and asked for one. Usually I cut it up for her, but this time I felt she was old enough to chew it up and not chock on it so I handed her one. She looked it over and before I knew it she was sticking it on her finger and asking for more. Since I was one to stick black olives on my fingers as a child I oh course handed her ten and yelled for Jeff to bring the camera. She needed a little help with her thumbs, but we got them all on. She even ate them after the picture too! I thought my 3 readers might like to see!

Toddler rules:

(I stole this from a friend's blog because it is so very true...)
Toddler Rules Author Unknown

If it is on, I must turn it off.

If it is off, I must turn it on.

If it is folded, I must unfold it.

If it is a liquid, it must be shaken, then spilled.

If it a solid, it must be crumbled, chewed or smeared.

If it is high, it must be reached.

If it is shelved, it must be unshelved.

If it is pointed, it must be run with at top speed.

If it has leaves, they must be picked.

If it is plugged, it must be unplugged.

If it is not trash, it must be thrown away.

If it is in the trash, it must be removed, inspected, and thrown on the floor.

If it is closed, it must be opened.

If it does not open, it must be screamed at.

If it has drawers, they must be rifled.

If it is a pencil, it must write on the refrigerator, monitor, or table.

If it is full, it will be more interesting emptied.

If it is empty, it will be more interesting full.

If it is a pile of dirt, it must be laid upon.

If it is stroller, it must under no circumstances be ridden in without protest. It must be pushed by me instead.

If it has a flat surface, it must be banged upon.

If Mommy's hands are full, I must be carried.

If Mommy is in a hurry and wants to carry me, I must walk alone.

If it is paper, it must be torn.

If it has buttons, they must be pressed.

If the volume is low, it must go high.

If it is toilet paper, it must be unrolled on the floor.

If it is a drawer, it must be pulled upon.

If it is a toothbrush, it must be inserted into my mouth.

If it has a faucet, it must be turned on at full force.

If it is a phone, I must talk to it.

If it is a bug, it must be swallowed.

If it doesn't stay on my spoon, it must be dropped on the floor.

If it is not food, it must be tasted.

If it IS food, it must not be tasted.

If it is dry, it must be made wet with drool, milk, or toilet water.

If it is a car seat, it must be protested with arched back.

If it is Mommy, she must be hugged.

More Portraits...

I loved these! They are a little more artistic, but I just found something so sweet in them. Maybe it's just because I love the kiddos so much! You decide...

Easter Portraits

While the girls were all dressed up for Easter I thought I'd grab my camera and get some pretty portraits. We went to a great local park called The Old Mill. These are some of my favorites. If you would like to see them all let me know and I'll send you a link to the gallery and the password. I got some really great ones of Heather's kids too!

Me and my coupons.

I have had lots of people ask me about my couponing and how I'm doing. I've also had a lot of questions about how others can do it too. So although there is WAY too much info for me to share over the web I can give a small taste and try to answer most questions I have received. If you would still like more information just call or email me!
Ok about 2 months ago I took a coupon class that was offered free here in town. I don't think they offer the class anymore. I learned a few things and was intrigued. So I went out and signed up for the newspaper and began what turned out to be my new obsession. I get on average 2-4 papers a week. I cut out all the coupons. And I do mean ALL the coupons. I have a three ring binder that has baseball card holders in it and veriest other sizes of page protectors. I place my coupons in these sheets divided by sections (baby, canned goods, frozen, etc.). I then get my weekly ads (also usually found in the paper though some of our grocery stores mail them out on Tuesday). I sit down and go over the add with a piece of paper and a pen.
Example:
CVS
Dove Body wash $3.99- $3 off coupon = $0.99
Buy $15 get $5 Extra bucks
Homeland
Bluebell Ice cream pint $1-$1 coupon = FREE
Cheerios 2/$4 = 1/$2- $0.75 off 1 (doubles) & $0.55 off 1 (doubles) = 1/$0.50 & 1/$0.90

Ok so I go through all the ads like that looking at the sale and what coupons I have. I used to never shop at homeland and always at crest or walmart! Now I Shop at homeland or willaims 90% of the time because they double coupons. It makes a huge difference! If I go into Homeland and my receipt says that I saved 50% I consider it a bad week. I typically save between 50%-90%. I have had a few 98% trips, but that's NOT typical and usually only happens when I run in for a few things I know are free that week.
Look for special sales and watch out for what days things are on sale. Some store will try to fool you by only having the REALLY good deal on Monday or something. It helps to join a coupon group. I started one with my friends and family here. We get together and clip coupons and trade and talk about different sales. That way things that I missed in the flier they point out to me. We also tend to call each other when we find a really good deal or coupon somewhere so they others can join in. It also helps that they all know I have dogs and they don't so I get the dog coupons, and my sister in law has a cat so she gets the cat coupons etc. We look out for coupons we know the others need or want. I don't think I'll ever be able to ignore a laughing cow coupon again because I know my sister wants it.
If you can't make or join a coupon group there are lots of coupon forums out there. Feel free to join one. A few tips though: look for a group that fopcuses on your area. It makes it easier if you aren't forever running out to a store only to find the deal you heard about only exisit in wisconsin (true story). Also be aware of any group that talks a lot about "cheating the system" like coping coupons or making their own. This is really bad for business. I always try to make sure that the manufacturer and the store get their money in the end! I don't want to cheat anyone along the way.
You can get great coupons online, but a lot of stores won't take them. I recommend getting to know your favorite stores coupon policies and the manager. I have started getting money off each time I use my reusable bags (even though I'd use them anyway) at my two favorite grocery stores because I asked the managers if they had considered it and they said they already had it in the computer. I just had to know about the discount and ask for it.
Learn how to use register reward programs. These are programs where they print off a coupon at the end of your trip that says "take $___ off your next purchase" I know that CVS, Walgreens, and Homeland all have programs of this nature. Today alone I walked into CVS and bought about $50 worth of stuff and paid about $5 for it all because of extrabucks. I even walked out of the store with $19 in extrabucks left over for next week. Basically I bought item a that cost $4 and used a $3 off coupon. So I paid $1. I bought 4 of item a in my first transaction. Since I bought $15 worth of item a (calculated before coupons) I received $5 extracare bucks. I spent only $4 for $5 in extra care bucks. I then spent those $5 on a $6 transaction that gave me back $8 extra care bucks. This just went on till I was done.
If you plan it out you can save more, but just cutting the coupons and taking them to the store will save you bundles. The key is to cut them all out even if you don't think you'll use them and save them till they expire because what is on sale this week is different form next week. Always try to couple store sales with coupons and you'll be saving bundles in no time!

Things I don't get

Ok Emily, here goes....
Things I don't "get":
1) Why they tear up a road and wait months to get around to fixing it! What they only had the street scraper rented for the day so they choose to tear up any road they might be thinking about fixing in the next two years and then take their sweet time repaving....grrrr. Fix the stupid roads already. (for those of you confused by this drive around the village sometime).

2) Spending lots of money on sunglasses. I lose sunglasses right and left. People drop them in lakes and leave them in stores and other peoples cars. So why spend $100+ on a pair of sunglasses? I personally believe in the dollar tree variety of sunglasses. I have about 15 pairs and never have to worry about losing one!

3) People who pay for coupons. Well besides the obvious buying the newspaper. But seriously why would someone spend $10 for a $12 off coupon of baby formula? Sign up for their stupid program and they will mail you coupons! Besides you're only saving a tiny bit by the time all is said and done anyway. I don't buy coupons (besides the paper) and I save 75%-90% off my groceries. Seriously people.

4)People who say major just because posh does.
Which brings me to:
5) Old bands that people now joke about trying to make comebacks....vanilla ice and the spice girls should learn other ways to make money....

6) What is exactly so appealing to a two year old to make them repeat everything they say about 50 times?

Ok so that's all I have for right now...

We have been very very sick around here. I think we might finally be over it all! First we got the flu, then once that had gone all around the family we got some sort of tummy bug! Now that has gone all around the family and I hope we are well for a while! In happy news my baby turned 10 months old! She is so big! We took her and Sophy to the park today to play for a while. Can you believe I forgot my camera? I was so sad! I do have some cute pictures of lola that I snapped around the house this week.

This picture was taken at Annabelle's birthday party. Lola loved playing with the bubbles and trying to catch them! I of course played with the picture a little, but it's still my sweet baby! Can you believe that in less than 3 months this little one will be one year old!

Hello all. I kept meaning to sit down and write a catch up with pictures from christmas, but being the busy person I am I haven't done it yet. I have been wanting to write about the current stuff and not doing it because the past still hadn't been covered, so here goes. Christmas was fun. We stayed at home this year as per our every other year decision and had a wonderful time. Since technically Christmas is still my parents holiday they came and spent it at our house. Aaron and Trish came over with baby AB and we all opened presents. It was a lot of fun watching the girls play with toys and paper and bows! They had a blast. Afterwards the pogues went home to put AB down and we quickly cleaned up and made lunch. We were blessed to have Daniel and Rosemary and daniel's grandmother come for lunch as well as the pogues. We had 12 people for lunch! For New Years this year we went to our friend's house to play games and hang out. It was a lot of fun esp. when Rock Band became girl band, though I learned I'm not so good on the drums! After New years we got our new living room set! We love it. It's not the color we ordered, but we decided that it's a good thing because the color we got goes better than the other one would anyway. It's nice big comfy furniture, what more could we really want?
As many of you know we have been going through allergy testing since before Thanksgiving. Sophy is done with hers for several years and she's not so bad off. Lola unfortunately got all of mine and Jeff's allergies. We just did our second round of testing on lola and she's allergic to several things. The list includes: Dust, Dairy, dogs, cats, and a few others that aren't too bad.
Last week my mother called me to see if I'd be willing to help out in February when my dad was supposed to have surgery. I of course agreed and marked it on my calendar. Only then he went to the doctor and they moved the surgery up to as soon as they could get him in. So my dad was cut open on Tuesday while they put a pace maker in. I was unable to go on Tuesday because of the aforementioned allergy testing, but I hurried off on Wednesday. So here I am trying my best to take care of my dad and help out my mom while my two children are underfoot. I often wonder how much I'm helping and how much they are hurting and if maybe I should have stayed home to help him out. Actually Sophy is doing much better than I thought she would and besides Lola trying to eat the fireplace and the fridge magnets and anything else she's not supposed to play with we are doing alright.
On a totally different note my friend courtney had her baby! Yea! He's a super cute chubby baby. It was the good part of not being able to leave on tuesday. I got to go by the hospital and see him before I left for bug filled Arkansas. Also my friend Elizabeth got engaged and wants me to do the portraits! So I will hopefully be able to squeeze in a photo session while I'm here. That's assuming that the weather holds out....
Alright that is all for now. I'll post pictures when I get home.

Finally an update!

Alright. It's finally time to post. I have been so crazy busy that I have been awful about sitting at the computer for long. That is of course, unless I'm working. I must say that work has been going great with lots of business and a great Christmas season! I am glad to have a little break though. Don't worry, I'll be back to the grind stone before long.
I thought I would post a few of my favorites from Lola's 6 month portraits! I know they are a little old since she is already 8 months old! I can't believe how fast she is growing. She already has her first tooth a full 2 months before her sister got one and she just said "mama" this week! We moved her into her own room last week and she has seemed to do very well with the move. I'm int he process of redecorating both hers and Sophy's rooms. Hopefully when I finish I can get a picture of them up here!

sorry...

Ok, so much for posting everyday in November...
I promise a whole bunch of posts and pictures are coming, just have to get past the holiday season! So busy! Once the 14th has past things should slow down a lot!

Merry Christmas!