That’s the exciting stuff that happened today.  Jackie had her first flute lesson and Ally had her first violin lesson today!  They both have been so anxiously awaiting this day since I bought their instruments for them.  And they were both beaming when they got done with their lessons.

Jackie learned how to make noise come out of her flute, put it together and a note.  I was pretty relieved as I tried as hard as I could to make a noise come out of that thing but was completely unsuccessful.

Ally’s teacher put her bridge on her violin for her so now it can be played.  Taught her about the different parts of her violin and started to teach her how to play.  Of course Ally was a little disappointed that she didn’t get to use her bow.  But I told her she has to master the basics before she tries to use the bow.  That seemed to satisfy her for a little bit.

It was the neatest thing though sitting there during their lessons.  There’s probably about thirty different rooms and they all have glass sliding doors and you can see into every single one.  And there had to have been about 10 different instruments being taught.   

Then I raced home after music lessons, dropped them off at the front door to an awaiting Grandma and raced up to the school just in time for the second session of Open House for Ally.  Anyone who knows my Ally knows she is a nonstop talker.  So I’m always paranoid that’s how she’s going to be in school.  So I finally got brave enough to ask her teacher how she was doing with that in class, and he seemed shocked that would even be a concern for me.  He actually is very concerned about how quiet she is!  I was shocked!  Figure give her a couple of months and he’ll totally be eating those words. 

We are finally ready to hit the ground running bright and early Tuesday morning with homeschooling.  We finally got the rest of Jackie’s curriculum last Thursday when Eric was gone.  So of course while he was out of town I didn’t have a chance to really sit down with it and make an action plan.  But with a little bit of help from Eric, a trip to the Supply Closet for a Lesson Planner/Grade Book I got it done tonight.  Let me tell you, I have a whole new respect for teachers just from that angle alone!

My last bit of exciting news…  Serendipity Scraps will officially become The Paper Pixie by tomorrow morning!  I got a chance to take a sneak peak of some of it and it totally rocks.  You’ll have to go check it out.  There’s a section set up for the Design Team and I have to say Martha took a pretty decent picture of me.

Off to sweet talk Eric into getting up with Ally as it will be my last time of being able to sleep in on a school day!

Not only did Vickie and I have a crop in honor of our birthdays, I celebrated my birthday with my family yesterday, but Vickie and I had our birthday dinner at Argosy over All You Can Eat Crab Legs.  Crab legs are one of my biggest weaknesses.  It was so nice though.  It was a very small group – Vickie, Tempie, Lillian and me (Christy had a better offer;) )  We all were there by 5:30 and didn’t leave until 9:30!

No we didn’t sit there eating the whole time!  We had such a nice long visit though!  Those girls are just some of the sweetest people I know.

In addition to the wonderful company Vickie gave me the most gorgeous Halloween layout for my birthday!  A total Vickie original!  Not even a page packet yet!  And it was all put together!  I can’t wait to put Halloween pictures on it!  And her and Tempie gave me a gift card to the movies with some different theatre candies!  Can we say date night?! 

I also forgot to mention that the other day my secret person struck again.  Whoever it is is sneaky.  Very, very sneaky.  Not only did they give me a Curious George birthday card, but teased me with scraps from the tags they have sent me AND three pairs of the cutest monkey socks!  They make me giggle. 

Thank you girls for the bestest birthday ever!

Eric let me sleep in so nice and late!  It was great!  Talk about feeling rested.

After my shower and piddling around for awhile we finally headed out to lunch at my new favorite restaurant – Corner Cafe.  Tried their french toast today which was great.

We drove around for a little bit before finally going and picking up Ally from school.  After a quick trip home to drop off the girls Eric and I headed out for a much needed date.

We went and watched Rush Hour 3.  It was so funny.  Not quite as good as the last two, but it was still pretty good.

Then we decided to try the Ted’s Montana Grill.  I wanted to try something different and was in the mood for a steak.  The service was very friendly and very fast!  So fast that my steak was still mooing at me when it came out.  Then I did something I have NEVER done before.  I sent my steak back to cook longer.  Then it was much better.

After dinner we made a quick trip to Target.  I had a couple of things I needed to still get before diving into homeschooling the girls.  Pickings were pretty slim.  You would think by now the stores would finally be getting their crayons, markers, rulers, etc back in stock from the back to school rush.

Now, we’ve rented three movie that just came out today.  Have a nice big piece of Coldstone Creamery birthday cake from Eric’s Mom and ready to cuddle up with Miss Erica and Eric, watch a movie and then fall quickly asleep.

Well I’ve realized as the older I get the faster time seems to be flying past me!  I have had the hardest time convincing myself that this is 2008 versus 2007.  This became apparent tonight at dinner.  I asked the girls how old the think I will be tomorrow.  Erica said 5, Ally said 36 and Jackie bless her heart said 25.  As I began to correct them I had to try to do the math and decided I was turning 32.  Then I realized duh, I’m still stuck in 2007!  Nope I quickly realized I was turning 33!  As if I weren’t aging fast enough!

So Eric got home just a few minutes ago and I was telling him this story and he momentarily stresses out for a minute that he lost a year too.  Then he looks at me and says it really is 2007.  Geesh!  I really don’t know what year I’m in!  Oh well, that would only make sense since I usually don’t know what day it is either. 

Today was the day of the great Birthday Crop for Vickie and myself at Vickie’s.  Actually I’ll really take any excuse to crop with my friends, but it was such a wonderful way to celebrate our birthdays.  Lots of laughing and even some scrapbooking!

Tempie even brought a yummy birthday cake!  Got goodies from my friends.  Those girls are so great!  Nora gave me this great melting pot (I think that’s what it’s called) where you light the tea candle and then above it put a square of scented wax on the top and it melts and makes the room smell so pretty. 

Julie brought me a bucket of goodies.  The cutest bucket!  In it was stickles, dark chocolate peanut butter buckets from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (one of my two favorite things from there) and a gift card for Michael’s.

Kerry brought me my other favorite thing from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for my birthday, a caramel apple!  Yummy!

And Christy gave me this awesome idea book.  I think it was called “Tis The Season.  Has all these great projects, layouts and cards for Halloween, Fall, Thanksgiving, Winter and Christmas.  She also gave me a gift card to Archiver’s.

And the best gift of all was a good time spent with good friends.  I am so looking forward to our weekend in Oklahoma!  It’s just so neat to look at our group.  We are all so different.  Ages ranging anywhere from 30ish to a lady does not tell her real age.  All shapes and sizes.  Different religious backgrounds.  Grandmas and Moms, Sisters and Daughters.  Everyone with a different occupation.  And yet we all get each other.  We all click and get along so great!  I truly do appreciate my circle of friends. 

Thank you girls.  Your friendship is my most treasured gift!

Yesterday after we dropped off Ally at school we went to the Y and reactivated our membership and signed all three girls up for swim lessons.  The gal there tried to talk Jackie into joining the swim team and for once Jackie was actually interested but she decided she would be more comfortable taking lessons first and then join the swim team.

Then we went to the Dance Shop and got Erica her leotard and tights for dance class.  Of course after we got home she had to try everything on and within 10 minutes one of the rabbits snagged them in a couple different spots.  There’s $10 out the window.  We’ll have to get a new pair later next week I guess.

Went to the bead store right next store and tried to find my spacers for the COF bracelets. The website I normally get them on only had 11 in stock and to make the shipping make sense I always order 100 at a time.  Had no luck at the bead store.  JoAnn’s used to have them but they quite carrying them and last time I checked the store in Liberty didn’t have them either.  Found some on eBay and bid on those. 

Went and paid Jackie and Ally’s music lessons through the end of September.  One less thing to worry about on our crazy Thursday.  The girls seem anxious about starting.  So much so that someone tried to put Ally’s bridge on her violin.  Thank goodness they didn’t break it! 

Today was a nice lazy day.  I was supposed to take Jackie to Science Club this morning.  I was actually looking forward to it as I enjoy going to the fiber store next store.  But we were all so wiped out that when I woke her up at 7:30 this morning and gave her the option of sleeping in instead she choose the sleeping.  Of course I was completely grateful!  I was so tired.  So I snuggled up back in bed for a couple more hours.

I worked on a birthday gift and then worked on a gift for my secret person on Serendipity Scraps.  Have a few little embellishment touches to still put on it, but I am hoping she will like it.  I’ll see next week.

After a home cooked meal the second night in a row the girls and I finally got dressed and went over to Diane’s to pick up some page packets that I want to work on tomorrow at the birthday crop.  If I actually get them done, with the exception of bunny layouts of Monet, our Cruise album and our Chicago/St Louis Album I’ll be caught up again!  Woo Hoo!  I know it’s not all about being caught up.  But when I am caught up I tend to be able to take pictures of the more daily type things and feel more creative in my layouts and projects.

A quick trip past the grocery store for snacks and food for the girls and Miss Brandi and snacks for the crop.  Once I got Erica to sleep (thank goodness) I ordered vacation pictures for the vacation layouts I want to do for the girls’ albums.  It’s Diane’s “Moving On” but I’m going to change the title to “Summer Vacation”, “Road Trip”, or “Family Vacation” or something. 

It’s now way past bedtime.  The house is tidy and my bags are packed for the crop.  Now to just finally get myself to realize that getting sleep is a good thing…  Goodnight!

That’s what I have passed out right next to me.  We got up way earlier than we would like so we could take Eric to the airport.  I of course got up even earlier than she did as I forgot to pack Ally’s lunch last night and then never went to lay back down. 

Got the house tidied up, but now have a huge pile of laundry.  Can’t have them both done at the same time now can we?  Oh well, I’ll work on it tomorrow and then will be able to relax the rest of the day!  Maybe even get some scrapbooking in.

We did have a play date over at our house today.  Erica had so much fun and really did very well at not being shy.  I was pretty pleased with her.  It’s so nice seeing her have an opportunity to play with another kiddo her age.

After our play date left Erica finally had a meltdown.  Up late last night, early up this morning and no nap equals cranky girl.  So, we left early for dinner at Corner Cafe.  I think their spaghetti was good.  I was trying to wolf it down as quickly as possible as the girls were bickering back and forth between each other, Erica kept whining and breaking her flip flop and I was exhausted (late night, early to rise and no nap for me too!)

Walked in the door and Jackie’s curriculum had made it’s way here!  Yay!  And my first issue of Memory Makers.  Something to read tonight before I go to bed.  I know if I go to bed too early I’ll think I took a nap and wake up around midnight and be awake for most of the rest of the night!

Need to try and work on some Circle of Friends bracelets too as we have a few birthdays coming up in our group.  Speaking of birthdays…  I’m so looking forward to Sunday!  Vickie and my birthday is two days apart, so there’s going to be a birthday crop over at Vickie’s house!  I’ll take any excuse to crop with my friends!    I can’t wait!  There will be so many of us over there!  Christy, Kerry, Vickie, Lillian, Nora, Karen, Diane, Tempie, Denise, etc, etc.  I am so looking forward to it.  And it will be a much needed break by then too!

Off to unpack Jackie’s books, make some bracelets and curl up again next to Erica and watch TV and read my magazine!  What a wild night! 

Corner Cafe!  Went there for the first time tonight!  Why have I never eaten there before?  It was great!  Good home cooked type food but with taste!  And not very expensive at all!  The girls and I are going back tomorrow night for their Thursday Spaghetti Special since Eric will be out of town.

We also took Erica to IBSEN Theatre to get her signed up for Preschool Combination Dance Class.  She’s asked me at least a dozen times tonight when she gets to go back.  A little funny happened there though.  The instructor took her by the hand and walked her into the larger studio and Erica was actually chatting happily back and forth with her.  They turn and face the mirror and the teacher shows her that her right foot is peanut butter and her left food is jelly.  The teacher keeps telling her this and I can see Erica’s reflection in the mirror and her eyes are getting bigger and bigger.  The teacher asks her if she likes peanut butter and jelly.  I decided it was a good time to interrupt and tell her Erica has a nut allergy.  She felt so bad.  Eric explained out in the car that is how like how they teach you your different feet instead of saying left and right.  Definitely set her mind at ease.  Of course when the sisters got in the car she had to teach them which foot is their peanut butter and which one is jelly.

I also went through the bags and bags of clothes everyone has outgrown and loaded up the van.  There had to have been 10 of those huge black trash bags full.  It was a pretty full van load for sure.  I then took them up to Goodwill.  Eric kept asking me why we were taking all those girly clothes to Will.  I think she finally grasped the concept by the time we left there though.

I think that’s all the exciting things that happened today.  Never made it to the YMCA to restart our membership and sign the girls up for swimming lessons.  Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.  So much to do and so little time…

I got up nearly at the crack of dawn and made a nice breakfast for Eric and the girls before Ally had to leave for school.  Yummy chocolate, chocolate chip pancakes and Maple Bacon.  After cleaning up from breakfast it was time to take Ally to school.

After Erica and I got back she crawled back into bed and I worked on laundry again.  Between loads I worked some more on Great Wolf Lodge Layouts for the three girls’ albums.  Just need to add one more picture, journal and add a couple of doo dads or embellishments.

After lunch it was time to run to Miss Grace and get my nails beautiful again.  As Eric had a ton of work to get down for his webinar tonight I took Erica with me and Miss Grace painted her nails a beautiful shade of red.  She is so proud of them.

Made a trip to Sam’s club to pick up more water, some other necessities and a flute for Jackie and a violin for Ally.  Yep.  You heard that right, violin and flute.  After a quick trip home to drop everything off I ran over to Meyer Music and signed the two older girls up for music class. 

I figured since I was so close to Hobby Lobby it would be just rude to not stop in there.  I got some very fun trims.  Now just to remember I have them!  I’ve also been on a mission to find stuff to put together an album for our Family St Louis/Chicago trip.  So it was off to JoAnn’s yet again and I found the perfect 8×8 album and it was 40% off too!  Made yet another trip to another craft store (Michael’s) and found the paper I wanted to use in the album (K&Co Happy Trails) and a bunch of the matching embellishments.  I’m even going to tie in some of the embellishments from their Roam line too. 

Erica and I willingly decided it was time to make our way home.  We had a little bit of time to kill before we had to vacate the house so we rescued the instruments from their boxes.  Ally was totally excited about her violin and can hardly wait to start her lessons.  Jackie really didn’t seem phased.  I can’t wait until she starts learning how to play though because I always wanted to learn how to play the flute so hopefully she’ll learn me what she learns.  And I think it would be so fun for Ally and I to practice together.  Figure it won’t be too long before she’s a better violin player than I am.

In order to make the house nice and quite for Eric’s webinar I took the girls to Red Robin for dinner.  I had just got a coupon for a free burger for my birthday so I figured it was a pretty good night to use that.  I was so relieved though our waitress didn’t quite put two and two together and sing to me.  Jackie was pretty thankful too.

We still had an hour to kill so we drove all the way out to what will hopefully be our house.  I can’t believe after a year of looking at it, it is still for sale.  It has to be waiting for us!  I can so picture raising my family in that house.  I can see in my mind what furniture I want in that house.  I can see us having Christmas dinner with Eric’s parents in the dining room.  And eating breakfasts every morning as a family in the breakfast nook.  I can see the girls sitting at the bar doing their homework. 

After a quick trip to the bank (Sara I have money for you….) we finally made it home just after 9pm but Eric was still on his webinar so we sat in the car for another 40 minutes when he was finally forced off by a short power surge that rebooted his computer and cut out his phone.  He was so frustrated.  But alas we were able to get in the house. 

I am so tired though.  I can hardly wait to snuggle down under my covers and fall quickly asleep.  Eric and I made a deal that since he leaves Thursday for Las Vegas and won’t be home until Tuesday he’s going to get up with Ally tomorrow and Thursday.  I don’t think he could possibly know how grateful I am to him for that.

Off to check a few more things and then off to bed.  Good night!

I’ve been telling Eric for a couple months now that for my birthday I wanted the new Cricut Expressions.  Then over at Denise’s house the other night she turned me on to the Cuttlebug.  Well as luck would have it for Eric they were both on sale this week at JoAnn’s!  And as luck would have it for me, he bought me both of them for my birthday!  He’s quite the guy!

This thing totally rocks!  Of course I haven’t had much time to play with it yet, but I am very excited about what it can do.  Not only will it cut shapes and letter up to 23 1/2 inches but it will also cut letters 1/4 inch and up!  And I am totally loving the shape cartridge that came with it!  I can hardly wait to sit down and create something with it!

And here is the Cuttlebug.  Denise made the coolest card with the embossing folders you can use in it.  I thought it would be cool even for photo mats.  Or die cut letters and then emboss them!  Very cool!  And the dies and embossing folders are super cheap!  Especially when you use a 40% off coupon at J’s!

Now just to figure out how to convince Eric I want the Clip It Up.  Thinking it might be smart of me to just wait on that for a little bit longer…

After we got back from birthday shopping yesterday.  I went to a crop at Diane’s church.  We had quite a group of us there.  Renee and her Sister In Law Carey, Christy, Karen, Diane, Nora, Kerry and her friend Cari, and myself were there.  Denise, Tempie and Vickie dropped by for a little bit and visited too.  I just always have such a nice time visiting and cropping.  I almost got two layouts done.  Slowly but surely I catching up.