oops

So, I thought it would be a good idea to let Miss E. "drive" the car while I unloaded the groceries. She wanted to and since the car was SAFELY parked in the garage, with the garage door closed, and the keys were SAFELY inside the house, I thought there would be no harm in me avoiding a dramatic melt-down. Well...as you've guessed, I made a huge mistake.

Leave it to Miss E. to find the one thing in the car that could both make a HUGE mess and potentially poke an eye out...my "emergency" mascara (I keep it in the car for when I need to look presentable in a flash). She said she "needed to put on her make-up". Luckily, she did not poke an eye out and AK and I were able to get some photos for memory's sake. Un-luckily, I forgot that I took the "emergency" mascara out of the car during said drama, and did not have it today when I "needed" it. My friend's little girl said I looked "different". Oops...

a favorite

One of my favorite people, in the category of people I have never met and don't really know, is Elizabeth Kartchner. She is a brilliant scrapbooker and blogger, and recently added designer to her list. Her newest scrapbooking products will debut very soon and since I'm so very excited about it, I decided to share 2 layouts using her first Dear Lizzy line.

Happy Monday! We're off to run errands and then have a play date at the beach:)

happy father's day!

Warning: This is a sappy post coming to you from Paris, TN (yes, they have internet here...shocking, I know!).

I have been beyond blessed with wonderful men in my life. My father, father-in-law, gramps, grandpa, grandpa nelson and of course my awesome hubby have been such great examples of great men. They have all served God with all their heart and have loved and taken care of their families above and beyond what we could ever deserve. I especially love to watch them interact with Ella with a gentle love that only a Daddy or Grandpa can give (I really wish I could have seen my Gramps with Miss E). Happy Father's Day to every Father, but especially these remarkable men in my life!

Miss E and her Daddy


Miss E and Papa


Miss E and Papa Bob


This year Miss E. and I got to spend Father's Day with my Grandpa Carson and my Dad in Tennessee...as well as my Uncle Dick and family. It was really nice because I can't remember I time I was with my Grandpa Carson on Father's Day! We missed AK terribly and his side of the family and will celebrate with him when we get home. I hope Miss E. never has to spend a Father's Day without her Daddy again though!

Miss E and Poppy

Miss E and Grandpa

challenge no.1

I've been wanting to do a challenge for soooo long! My friend Adrienne and I used to do scrapbooking challenges all the time but we haven't in a very long time. Finally we are getting back into it and our first challenge was to take a page from a Pottery Barn catalog and use it as inspiration for a layout. Here's my take:

The Pottern Barn room:

My layout "It's a Boy":
(not the best photo, as it was 7:45pm...but I had a deadline!)

why not?

Two weeks ago we began a journey that we thought would be pretty laid back and easy-going. Hmmm...not so much. Our flight was delayed and then after 3 hours in the air, landed safely back in Chicago, not MIAMI. Thank God AK is a good schmoozer and was able to secure a flight for us first thing friday morning or we would have not made it to the ship in time!

Luckily, thankfully, we made it to our beautiful ship in time, Royal Carribbean's Radiance of the Seas (a much smaller ship than we have been on in the past but still really, really great) and thus began our wonderful anniversary we-can-finally-leave-ella-and-won't-be-able-to-do-this-again-for-a-long-time-since-the-baby-is-coming trip. Here are some of the highlights:

first night of the cruise

view of our ship from coco cay

self portrait on the tiny boat that brought us to the island

the GIANT iguana that tried to kill me...or at least scare me to death

formal night


our ship parked next to the newest ship, oasis of the seas...looks so tiny:) next time we're going on oasis...why not? as royal carribbean would say
finally at Atlantis Resort! (what a handsome man he is)

a great shot of Atlantis (see that middle section connecting the two towers? that's a private suite that goes for $25,000 a night!)

last night:(

goodbye cruise!

It's a Boy!!!

Well...I haven't mentioned it here on my blog, but WE ARE HAVING A BABY! And you probably guessed by the title, but it's a little boy! I am still in shock I think (I don't know why as there was a 50/50 chance it would be a boy!), but proud daddy AK hasn't stopped beaming since yesterday morning:) Our newest addition will be born via C-section November 1 or sooner.

Here are some photos of the little guy!

face:

feet:

forearms:

hands:

a balloon, a layout, a disease, an activity...and some gardening

That's a mouthful...eh? I have a TON to share about our anniversary trip but it will have to wait as there is top news to be shared today.

Our top story today is that the balloon has safely reached the ground...FINALLY! A few mornings ago when I was being pulled half asleep to the playroom to watch Dora I was stopped in my tracks. The balloon was hovering in the doorway of the guest bedroom. Like a crazy woman, I grabbed the string, shoved it in the room and slammed the door before it could migrate to the too-tall-to-reach ceiling again. It has now made it's final landing. I don't know why I didn't just pop it...I guess I felt it hung in there for so loooong (since March 6th if you've forgotten), that I owed it to the balloon to let it deflate on it's own.

I also wanted to FINALLY share a layout! I made it awhile ago and FINALLY got around to taking photos. I also took photos of a few more layouts, so expect some creative posts soon!

"The Coolest Park Ever" (can't wait to go this year!)


close-up of pg1


close-up of pg2

In not so great news, Miss E. has hand, foot, mouth disease and it's no fun at all. A few nights in a row, she had a fever, so I took her to the doctor. Nothing seemed wrong so they ran some tests (poor baby had to give blood and go through the icky process of collecting urine...too much info but when I look back on the blog post I'll remember). We left for our trip not knowing what was wrong and when we returned we learned it was HFMD. Luckily it won't last too long and will go away on its own. No fun at all though...not at all.

I've gotten into the habit of sharing Miss E.'s favorite activities, and the activity of the week is puzzles! She is such a genious, I tell you! She can do so many "advanced" puzzles mostly on her own! Impressive...eh?

Lastly, Miss E. and I have been doing some gardening with the help of GG and Grammy. This weekend AK will be out there with us and I can't wait. Note: I don't like working outside really at all, but I love relaxing outside and playing outside and once the hard work is done we'll have a beautiful place to do both!

So there you have it. Lots of news, some photos, and the promise of vacation tales and creative posts. All brought to you by the letters E, A, K and eh!

more three-days please

Who doesn't love a three-day weekend? Like we do most three-days over the summer, we went up to the Dells to stay at Grandma and Granpa Nelson's cabin. We got there late Friday night and would have loved to sleep in, but Miss E. did not want us missing out on any fun that was to be had on our mini-vacation.

We started the day out right by picking up sticks from the yard.

The rest of the day was spent at the Farmer's Market in Baraboo, playing at the park, eating our favorite (but over-priced) fried pickles, napping, going to church with the family and having a wonderful dinner at a wonderful restaurant.

Miss E's day wasn't complete without a little wind-down time with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse though...

On Sunday, we had brunch at Thunder Valley Inn. It's a bed and breakfast that the family has been having brunch at for years and years. This is the third summer Miss E's been there to eat the yummy food and feed the goats.

After some outlet shopping, playing in the baby pool on the deck and another yummy meal, we headed home to get a good night's rest.

Memorial Day was amazing! We were honored to walk in the Burlington Parade with Congressman Paul Ryan (and family and supporters). We had an awesome time! The rest of the day was spent at our good friends' picnice...a perfect ending to a perfect weekend!