zzz’s   November 5, 2008

that’s what we’ve finally been hearing from me:) i’m a night owl anyways, but post surgery, it has been very difficult to sleep, not because i want to stay up, but simply because it is hard to find a comfortable position to sleep in. last night, and sunday night were the first nights i was able to sleep through the night. so thankful for that:)
i’ve got a to do list that is a mile long, which isn’t new. it includes fun things like preparing for my next class, at PMP on tuesday, november 11th. we’ll be creating 5 fun layouts and a card from 2 of the beautiful lines from MLS. hope to see you there:) we had a blast at the last layout class! another fun thing will be preparing for the make n take night for the BIG EVENT, here! it is a weekend long scrappin adventure, where you will get to create and take home 8 fantastic projects/gifts for the holiday season! i opted to not teach this year, since my lil one will be turning TWO very soon, and i knew i’d be occupied planning and throwing her celebration!
during my recovery, my dh has been exhausted trying to keep up the house and with our little ones, and rarely complains, so even though he knows it, you’re doing a great job! and this will pass soon. my emi girl has been super sweet, trying to think of ways of *making mommy better sooner*. that girl just melts my heart. she has been making me cards, she got me flowers, she leaves me love notes, is cleaning up after her and her sister w/o being asked, and openly praying about my healing. that is the part that just gets me every time. that she knows the Lord and knows to turn to Him.
here’s some layouts i had a great time creating, before surgery. i LOVE sassafrass lass!!! tfl.
mari’s speech has been growing daily. she can count to 5, knows all her body parts, and most colors. though these days, most colors are purple.
i’ll be scrappin her lingo soon, so before i forget:
farfane = airplane
flowfer = flower
pupu = purple
pupu = yello
pupu = red, and all other colors LOL
daddy = daddy
mimi = mommy [i went from mama to mommy to mimi]
emi = neigh neigh
thank you to everyone who has called, emailed, brought me meals, and prayed for me. i truly appreciate you.
blessings,
erin

b l o g break . . .   October 21, 2008

until post surgery. have a wonderful week+ everyone!!!
blessings,
erin yamabe

fun. release. scared.   October 17, 2008

yep, that would be me, all in one day!
scheduled my surgery today.
since i had an abo exchange with our dd, i need to bank some blood.
spent the morning cleaning my house, felt GREAT!
like a weight has been lifted, now to spend all the free time i have with my family.
just in case. something were to happen during surgery.
it is OK to be scared.
went through all of that.
and then, had an absolute blast with my mom tonight, after a day of cleaning, hugs from my girls [who did amazingly well at swim lessons this afternoon], helping at emi’s school, did my monthly session at dream dinners, and created a halloween costume for my emi girl, who cannot wait to rock it at her friend’s party tomorrow:) we had a blast, creating a super fun gift for my dear friend’s baby shower this weekend!!!
i love you mom.
i love you dh.
i love you emiko.
i love you mari.
i love you dad, for helping me make decisions this past week, especially.
i love you gfs, you know who you are!

hump D A Y   October 15, 2008

omgosh, i cannot believe it is already october 15th! yikes! i knew going into october, it was going to be busy, but after meeting with today’s surgeon, it will be that much busier!
this month, started off with a super fun trip with suzy, to the collins group show in florida, representing MLS.
since then, we’ve had our first daisy meeting for the girls, and just to kick off the year!
birthday parties, and coming up a halloween party!
costumes to choose, create, and keep on creating until it works and lil girls are happy.
fun DT assignments- almost completed:)
pumpkin patch day with the family.
fieldtrips for graders!
an awesome assignment from becky fleck, featured on her page maps site!
finally chose and joined an official mom’s group, today! [ for miss mari ]
planning mari’s 2nd birthday bash!
i will be another year older, soon.
basketball practices, swim lessons.
playdates. lots of those:)
kit my lo class, coming up next month.
scheduling my surgery, last week of the month.
trick or treating.

happy 1/2 birthday, emi girl!!!

as promised…   October 13, 2008

here’s some photos to share:

these are from suzy’s blog:

these were some of my favorites from disney world and animal kingdom. historically, i’m not very good on roller coasters, typically, i get too nauseated to enjoy it, thus a fear has developed over the years. and starting on this trip, i tested myself, knowing how much emi loves the thrills of the ups and downs. so, i did it, started fresh, and got on them ALL. and i had so much fun! thanks suzy!!! we had a wonderful two days of P L A Y in between working for MLS at the collins group show.

here’s my garage girl assignments! tried some new things, but layered nonetheless. surprise? LOL. the first one features new goodies from sassafrass lass. LOVE Them!
this one features fun glossy paper with sweets and cherries:)
this one features fun chipboard sayings, from colorbok.

and here’s what i’ve been working on for MLS assignments this month! i got to play with the orange marmalade line, LOVE it! i’m in the middle of working on another project, and will share that asap:)

and finally, here’s some shares from our family day out at one of our favorite pumpkin patches!

we had so much fun! we enjoyed the music, esp mari, who kept dancing her lil heart out! it was quite a site, to see all the pumpkins arrive that were being entered into the biggest pumpkin contest! we enjoyed a bootsie the bee corn maze tour, a train ride, and an awesome hayride, that led us into the butterfly gardens. the girls’ were so tired, mari took a 3+ hour nap. gotta love those days:)
happy columbus day!
emi doesn’t have school today, so after speech, we met friends at the park, and then enjoyed lunch together, playing many rounds of 10 questions - a grader version of 20 questions, riddles, and knock knock jokes!

what are you up to?

it’s been a while.   October 12, 2008

hello blog world!
well, my life has been turned upside down, ever since my ER episode. after many tests, xrays, blood work, and an abdominal ultrasound, they’ve discovered i have gall stones and need surgery. that pretty much says what i’ve been consumed with, besides getting settled in at home, after returning from florida with suzy, at the collins group show, representing MLS.
i love my family.
i love my girls.
i love my sweet, amazing dh.
i love my girlfriends.
i love my life.
i love having quality time with my family, above all else.
i love that they forgive me even when i’m distracted, stressed, or in a funk due to this pending surgery.
i love scrapbooking.
i want it to just be fun again.
i did create my gg assignments, in 3 hours last night:) it only took me 1 week to sit down and actually want to try something different. hope you like the results. they will appear here soon. again, you know i’m distracted if it takes that long for me to scrap!
miss emi has been doing very well so far in 1st grade. we have parent teacher conferences coming up soon, so we’ll know more details about areas she can improve on, etc. she is LOVING her basketball time. she started in the same league that her daddy grew up in, so you know he is having a ball out there with her! once mari moves her naps or is no longer napping [dare i say that?], we can all enjoy that time as a family.
miss mari is almost two. and that terrifies me, and thrills me all the same. ever since she was 18 months, since she was doing so much more than emi was at that age, she has almost already seemed two to me. and now, that we’re in her planning stages for her birthday party… [ among other things- getting ready for another fun baby shower, getting ready for halloween, and in the midst of planning and organizing daisy events], it has really hit me. she so isn’t MY BABY anymore. waaahhhhhh! seriously, i am wallowing for just a moment. ok, over it:)
i’ll have pictures, stories, and some creations to share shortly.
back to my MLS assignments…

see you soon!
blessings,
erin

fundraiser.   September 29, 2008

if you are in the reno area, please…
consider donating for my dear friend’s son, tanner.

LIVE AUCTION FUNDRAISER for LOCAL RENO
3-YEAR-OLD TANNER BERTAUCHE to be held on
Sat. November 8, 2008 at 100 VINO WINE SHOP IN RENO.

Tanner began his long hospitalization on July 7th at
RENOWN Regional Medical Center.

TANNER’S CASE IS THE ONLY 1 LIKE IT IN THE WORLD.

The very rare Juvenile Xanthogranuloma (JXG) disease affects his airway preventing him from eating or breathing without intervention and has taken his happy voice. After a tracheotomy, a port in his chest, a gastrointestinal feeding tube, & chemotherapy with complications, Tanner and his family are still facing 1-3 years of hospital stays, treatments and medical procedures.

Please join us in contributing to a wonderful cause for this Reno family Saturday Nov. 8 from 3 – 6 pm in which 100 VINO will donate 10% of any purchases to the Tanner Bertauche Medical Fund.

Come early to show your support & review auction items, sample wine, shop the store, or even just make a donation. Auction will be held at approx. 5:00pm.

100% of all monetary donations go directly to Tanner & his family to help with their continuous medical costs.

Contributions can also be made to the: TANNER BERTAUCHE MEDICAL FUND at any Wells Fargo Bank, or mailed to P.O. Box 1208, Shingle Springs CA, 95682-1208

happy hump day!   September 24, 2008

after a great night’s sleep, since i got to work out for 1 1/2 hours tues evening, our day started out great!
we got to school early:) got the laundry going and vaccuuming done, and even got to work on better brushing habits, before we headed out to our mommy and me class!

here she is in one of her new outfits, that we picked out yesterday, after finding out some good results from the dr. she has very few clothes that weren’t hand me downs, and since they were 50% off, i couldn’t refuse!

these were my faves out of the 100 or so taken during the first half of our class:)
had so much fun this month with the new SUGAR HIGH line from MLS.

2 layouts that i created during suzy’s anni crop:)

and a fun mini book, titled *just for you*


this afternoon, was filled with chores, homework, and a trip to the store, to help teach emi about being responsible with her monies. she chose to buy a paw print stamp, over candies or gum, since too much sugar isn’t good for you [those were her exact words] and spotty would enjoy using the stamp with her! mari found a dime and had a ball throwing it and spinning it wherever she could!

and i just returned from a mom’s night out with fellow school mom’s. this was so much fun! can’t wait for the next one, thanks again, k! and thanks dh for taking care of our girls 2 nights in a row:) mommy needed to get her exercise in, and tonight was just pure fun!

how is your week going?

tuesday update.   September 23, 2008

thank you again for all of your sweet emails and vmails!!! that means alot to me.
i LOVE MY DOC! he phoned before noon today with my lab results. he had sent them in asap, but didn’t think i would hear anything until thurs or fri, before he leaves for 3-4 weeks. yikes!
thankfully-
no diabetes.
no pancreatitis.
no diverticulitis.
no [one other itis, cannot for the life of me recall in this moment]
ultrasound is scheduled in 2 weeks, to examine my gall bladder.
am on a new medicine to help the pain. so far so good.
HAVE to lose weight. HAVE to. for me. for my GIRLS. for my family.
dropped off and picked up my grader today!
ran lots of overdue errands with my sassy mari this morning! and once we had gotten the good news, we headed back out and i started looking at workout clothes and walking shoes. figure, once i’ve lost 10 lbs, those will be sweet rewards!
vaccuumed.
cleaned the kitchen.
did laundry.
made a phone calls list for this week.
had a lovely playdate afterschool here. the girls played so nicely together:) and mari fell in love with emi’s friends’ mom. super cute!
after the playdate, i hit the gym! during the 1 1/2 hours i was there, i did 1/2 hr on the treadmill and an awesome aerobics class, called zumba! totally thought it was just dancing- didn’t even expect to sweat like i did. and had so much fun! met a new friend maria, it was her first time, too. we’ll be back doing the zumba weekly, except on bible study nights.
miss emi wanted me to give her her bath. finished up homework, read and put her to bed.
paid bills.
caught up on emails.
added a few more playdates for miss mari.
off to finish up assignments, and then i’ll have some shares!!!

happy tuesday! again, thank you for all of your emails and vmails! i was truly touched, esp those from out of the country:)

love you girls!

random tuesday stuff   September 16, 2008

hope you all had a nice weekend! ours was full and so much fun:)
saturday, we re-organized most of the girls’ toys from the family/dining room after having the carpets cleaned friday. looks so much better, and now there’s much more room for them to run around in:) pictures to come soon. after lunch, we had a playdate at the jungle, and the baby got worn out even! that night, i finished last minute things for angel’s shower, while dh continued working. he has taken on a consulting job. he also worked friday night, while i cropped:) suzy and i created a book she’ll be teaching in florida next month at the sue gilman show!
sunday, after church, emi and i headed up to my mom’s for angel’s shower. my sweet dad picked up the cake for us, and all the fixings for my fruit salad, how awesome is that? my mom didn’t want me to have to make another stop. they are just amazing! she had already put almost everything together and had decorated so nicely, so there wasn’t much left to do. a big thanks to rocio and nicole, we threw a really fun and funny shower as i’ve been told! and angel and tristan were given lots of love:) just the way it should be.
in scrappy news, rocio’s awesome MLS calendar and acrylic sierra projects were shown on scrapbook memories last thursday am.
and one of my layouts is featured on the front page of scrapvillage this month.
happy tuesday!