my mosaic

my mosaic, originally uploaded by skubygurl.

Michele had posted this on her blog-I had seen it before and finally took the time to try it out. I like how it turned out..a little boring but I choose the pics I liked the most!

Here were the rules:
Answer each of the following questions by typing your answer into the flickr search engine. then pick the photo that best represents you and your answer. Then paste the photo's url into "mosaic maker" set at four columns, three rows. voila!

1. what is your first name? Ann Marie -remember the show That Girl?
2. what is your favorite food? Pizza
3. where did you go to high school? Columbia Heights (apparently there is town named this in Washington DC as well as MN)
4. what is your favorie color? Aqua Blue
5. who is your celebrity crush? go way back...Andrew McCarthy
6. what is your favorite drink? Chocolate milk!
7. what is your dream vacation? Hawaii
8. what is your favorite dessert? Hostess Cupcake
9. what do you want to be when you grow up? Flower Shop owner
10 what do you love most in life? ok wanted to put my kids but opted for my dear mom-love her So so much
11. what one word describes you? sensitive (apparently there is a flower with this name?)
12. what is your flickr name? skubygurl (had to shorten it to Skuby)

Try it..its fun!

Non's escape

aka Cousins Weekend .....

I LIVE for this weekend...granted it was back in July..but I just got pictures uploaded and I have to blog about it.

We have so much fun. These are my cousins on my mom's side and we just click and have so much fun acting 20 yrs younger than we are.

We eat, drink, sing, boat and sleep all weekend in excess.

I opted to bake a GIANT HOSTESS CUPCAKE for this years event.

Being my favorite dessert..why not make it colossal!?

I was googling "hostess cupcake" and came across this website: PIMP THAT SNACK

and after staying up until 1am the night before our big weekend...I was sucessful!! Unbelievable! I am not a very good baker or cook so I was really excited when this turned out looking ok..

Commuting it up to our family lake cabin was a challenge..I stuck it in a big silver wash tub (originally intended to be used as a picture prop)... it worked perfectly.

We have a ritual of spending a nice evening out eating "Road kill Pizza" at the local tavern just down the dirt road on Friday night..best of all... they have KAROKE!

This year none of us opted to sing...and the people who did (townies) looked and sounded like this.. (my cousin Scott totally cracks me up!)

We opted to head home to the cabin and play ROCK BAND! instead.

This was my 1st time playing it and it was SO MUCH FUN.

We spent most of Sat on the lake...

We had fireworks and a bonfire on Sat night...

thanks cousins for a great time..see you next year!

Trying

Trying to prioritize what is best for me and my family..blogging takes a back seat obviously. Sleep and playing with the boys rather than watching them from the computer became more important.

Summer is winding down and I can feel Fall's crispness slowly creeping in.

I LOVE FALL..the dew on the grass in the a.m. and the crispness in the air, the start of school, the evenings getting shorter and the leaves turning brilliant shades of gold and red.

and lastly...the family brithdays start..John, Jack, my MIL and my Dad in August. Mom in Sept, Joey and I in October.

Finally I am gettting the loft area cleaned up and usable again. The boys play area on one side and my scrap space on the other. Bought a new desk at Ikea -love it so far..I'm learning the good and the bad of Ikea. Most things are affordable but the directions are lacking and if you forget a piece or they are out of stock..it is an hour drive to go back for me..grrrr.

My mom, the boys and I ate lunch there for the 1st time..pretty good food..I had the salmon and loved the chocolate cake. Also LOVED the little rolling carts they have for your trays since I got all the food and mom stayed with the boys at a kids table. Mom enjoyed the ligonberry juice too!

( I put a squirt of Sprite in there with it!)

Brother Joe won his flight at the Le Sueur CountryClub championship this weekend..Go uncle DOE!

Daddy played and tried his best..and then came home to his trophy's..the boys.

4 yrs ago on the Sunday championship day our sweet Jack was born. How appropriate..I had to call the pro shop to have them drive out to get John. He said he was playing the best game ever but flew out of there once he saw them coming for him...he just knew.

Jack went over and watched the championship round with John..he is so cute when he knows he will be going to the course with John..he gets his sun visor on (just like John's) and flies out of his chair once John walks in the door.."Let's go Daddy!"

Here they are earlier this summer..

Boys are a very good thing.

9 Months old

-You LOOOOVE to have your back scratched :)

-You can self feed and love to do it-bits of cheese and puffs so far

-You do enjoy it when momma makes choo-choo and airplane noises with the spoon

-You LOOVE to watch the Baby Einstein "Old McDonald" video..the Cow is you favorite and you always squeal and laugh when he comes on screen

-You are "army crawling" ALL over the place.

-You use one hand and the opposite foot to get around..army crawl..and acquired blisters on that hand and foot from it!

-To go backwards you flip over on your back and your scoot with your legs-I call it the "croppy flop"

-You love to play by the stairs and the white gate...it only took a few minutes for you to figure out how to slip your legs through the slim opening and get your head stuck.:(

-You are getting tooth #5 on the bottom left

-Your bedtime is officially 8pm! :)

-You tend to wake up around 7am and like to play and talk to your animal babies for awhile before you whine to get out.

-Momma and Daddy LOOVE to hear you "talk" in snippets of goo-goo'a and gaa-gaa's,bop

-With your new teeth you have discovered how to make funny slurping noises with your spit and your teeth..you make yourself laugh sometimes doing it.

-You like to be sang to..Twinkle, twinkle little star especially

-You love to play Pat-a-Cake with your hands and your feet

My christmas present

I recently purchased this shirt because I thought it was funny -if you know me I love cute funny t-shirts to wear as pjs.

So Jack comes up to say goodnight and sees it and our convo goes like this:

Jack: " Mom..what shirt you have on?"
Me: " My hamburger phone shirt!"

Jack: (giggling) "What's a hamburger phone mom?"
Me:" It's just what it looks like..a hamburger you talk on"
Jack: "That's silly mom..they dont sell hamburger phones!"
Me: " Oh yes they do..see
(and I pull up one from goggling it online)
Me:" Jack, go tell your Daddy that is what you want to buy me for Christmas...
Jack:" (still a little shocked they make such a thing) ok!"

overheard..
Jack:" Daddy! Mommy wants a Hangaburger fone for Christmas!"
Daddy: " A what?"
Jack:" A Hang-a-burger fone!"
Daddy: "a microphone?"

Mommy:(pipes in) " no, a hamburger phone!"

Daddy rolls his eyes at Mommy.. (Daddy does this a lot to mommy)

Wait and see my friends...you will all be so jealous of my new phone on Dec 26th!

My boys!

Another great photo shoot at Olivia's.

http://oliviawagnerphoto.blogspot.com/2008/07/jack-and-joey.html

Still here!

So behind I know..I need to recap back to the 4th of July!

Just a quick post to say its coming and wanted to shout out congrats to MICHELE whose BOOK is going to be for sale soon-How cool is that...at Amazon!

YOUR WORDS, YOUR STORY

I have met her and scrapped with her..such a cool chick!
When I ask her to autograph my copy I bet she will sign it.."you Dork!"

I think she really gets me.:)

8 months old

A few days late....we have been busy

At 8 months you:

Make a cute face by sucking in your lips -Momma thinks you look like an old man without dentures :)

Have 4 teeth total-2 top/2 bottom...the 2 on top came through with a big space in the middle- Momma calls you "Joe Bob."

You make it immpossible to capture them on film though!

Like to play with a 4 sided playtable G & G Zandlo had bought for Jack for his 1yr bday. We are getting a lot of use out of it early on with you.

Roll all over the place if we let you-you seem to enjoy rolling under tables with you head peeking out like an auto mechanic.

(Momma thinks if you become an auto mechanic that would be GREAT! )

You LOVE to jump in the Jumparoo...it is so fun to see you jump and jump and jump and then rest..and start all over again.-those chubba chubba legs won't be here for long!

You still love your brother more than anyone..

but he gets irritated with you screaming when he is trying to watch tv.

You also tend to laugh out loud at him when he is getting frustrated or throwing things around..it is hard for you to understand the difference between his anger and acting up for you :)

You love to watch tv...still. Usually we have kid shows on for Jack anyway.

You are eating #2 foods now..basically 2 foods mixed together. You have not shown an aversion to anything YET!

You took your first plane ride this month to see your cousin Brendan and you entertained everyone with your rolling and drooling skills.

You have days where you can drool through your bibs about 1 an hour and develop a red bumpy rash from it.

You love tub time...and grab onto whatever isn't nailed down. Momma tries to keep your hands busy with bright colored cups.

You are my sunshine sweetie-pie!

Trip to NY recap

We survived out 1st airplane trip -with both boys!


Jack had never been on an airplane before so this was really an exciting event for him.



We were in Corning, NY to see relatives- they are surrounded by the foothills of Appalachian mountains...beautiful country..I have no pics!


Here is my quick recap:


1- We had to get to the airport at 6 am..ugh that was tough but Jack was WIDE awake the entire 1 hr drive there and babbling about everything in sight. Clearly he was excited!


2- Joey was wide awake until 5 minutes into our drive..thank goodness he slept.


3- We barely made our flight! I had to quick buy some overpriced muffins and fold and gate check the stroller in 5 mintues to make the final boarding call!


4- Joey slept for all 4 flights-we had a layover in Detroit both ways. HEAVEN IS A SLEEPING BABY ON AN AIRPLANE!


5-The weather in NY was cool and rainy most of the time


6-We went out for a baptism and I was the proud "God- momma."
Here is our new nephew/cousin Brendan Howard
and my inlaws with their new bundle of joy...

7-The new stroller I picked out worked out great for the trip. Joey was comfy and even Jack could ride in it if needed as it holds up to 65 lbs!

8-I was proud of my packing skills. I had everything any of the boys needed throuhout the trip

9- I bought Jack a surprise out in NY-Scooby Doo gang figurines. HE LOVED THEM!

We are planning to buy the Mystery Machine sometime soon..

10- There was a fabulous ice cream shop just 5 minutes from their house..we made many trips there and Jack loved the cotton candy kids cone...



I was happy to be home in our own beds, on our usual schedule on return-something about having kids makes me ready to get home at the end of a trip...we need structure and familiar surroundings!

cute lunch option

http://forums.parenting.com/blogs/daily-fave/posts/munchlers-lunch-packs

cute..I would get Jack the doggie..

Taken by the great

Audrey Woulard...

How freakin cute is this pic?

Makes me want a little girl and a new baby...

pretty much sums it up

This shirt exemplifies Jack's attitude right now..3.5 yrs old..not a care in the world except his needs and wants...

perfectly happy to tune you out and just fly paper airplanes......

going on a trip...

Joey needs this outfit for our upcoming adventure to NY

Photo shoot

I found this cute yellow chair at a antique store in St Peter...and finally had a chance to get some pics of Joey in it!

Isn't he the cutest!??

update on Bachelorette party

Just for my friend Nancy! (HI!)..sorry I never followed up on here!

The bachelorette party was pretty much what I expected..lots of young chicks..a party bus with wood floors, bench seats all around the perimeter and 2 (ah-hem) poles in the middle. Needless to say Molly and I did not try out the poles. We just wanted to prove to ourselves we could stay up until 2 am and it didnt involve anyone under the age of 3.

I visited many bars in the Arlington, Norwood, Waconia area and things have not changed too much in the last 10-15 yrs...the youngsters start out strong and crazy and drop like flies as the night progresses.

I won't mind if I NEVER hear the song "Save a horse, ride a cowboy" ever again. It was playing in every bar and on the bus!

Thanks to Molly and the girls for letting this old lady come along!
(had a "Scooby Snack" shot at the last bar..pretty yummy!)

scrapbook space

If I could buy new furniture for my scrap space it would be these 2 pieces from Target... for sure!

On its way to me...new stuff!

Woo hoo..finally placed my order for this awesome Maclaren stroller

I test drove it at Babies R Us last week..they didn't carry the brown and blue one..I was super tempted to get the grey/orange ...but my 1st instinct was to get the blue/brown because it matches Joey's eyes!

Cant wait to try it out!

Cool photo shoot opportunity

Olivia is offering a great photo shoot opportunity..see here for details

I am tempted to do this with Jack but I dont think he will look as "tough" and cute as Aidan did!

7mos old..a little late!

Joey at 7 months:

-eating solids such as: bananas, applesauce, peas (loves em!), squash,

-likes to chew on the spoon a little too much but he is getting better everytime..esp if I hold his little hands away!

-Has 2 teeth on the bottom and working on the top left too!

-Starting sleeping in his crib, in his room downstairs.

-Momma is sleeping downstairs in the guest bed in his room too..just cant seperate yet

-waking once a night to eat now that he has a new sleeping spot!

-Still LOVES his brother Jack more than anything else

-Can roll from one end of the room to the other if you let him :)

-Still loves to play car wash with mommy's hair and have zerberts on his tummy

-Weighs 18.6 lbs and is 28 inches long

-wearing 6-12 months clothes...more 12mos in one pieces

-smiles for his Mommy and Daddy when we pick him up from daycare etc.

-smiles in the a.m to whomever picks him up out of bed

-is very vocal..no sure words yet but I sing a song to him repeating the words..Dad-dy, Mom-ma, Jo-ey, Jack-ie, Mamm-a, Bopp-a.....He loves it

-Likes to watch the other kids play at daycare...gets bored easily at home!

-Still LOVES to watch the tv too much :( -esp Scooby doo with his bro and Noggin

-When he is sleepy and you put him down to bed he pulls the blanket up over his face..always!

-Will take his first airplane ride later this month and meet his cousin Brendan

-

You don't bring me flowers anymore..

Until now..

Jack's new outdoor challenge....bringing flowers to his mom.
Dandelions (the taller the better)
picking marigolds right out of the planting bed (oh well)
azelas from the bush out front..



LOVE IT!