winter c l e a n i n g ! ! !   November 23, 2008

the bug sure has hit me! with this beautiful fall/winter weather we’ve been enjoying, how could i not? it started when nicole came over and mari and addie had two playdates in a row. we chose classes for their winter/spring schedule, talked about decorating, purging, and organizing our scrap spaces and it started and continued from there! so far, i’ve cleared two shelves [8 12x12 containers each], and made 3 piles like my dear friend casey recommended before mari was here. 1 was a keep pile, 1 was a donate/giveaway pile, and 1 was a sell pile. for me, 2 + 3 turned into donating/giveaway. it feels good to do that, given the economy and the time of year:) i also have been really into making cards, and i’ve not photographed them all, simply because i’ve been using a lot of them for thank yous! friday, at the crop, we all got our scrap on, and were most productive, using mainly our stashes and scraps! didn’t stop me from spending a little, but i created 3 layouts and 3 cards:) all before 11pm, and that including my and suzy’s MLS meeting, so we’re good to go! omgosh, wait til you girls see the new MLS stuff!!! holy bananas, there’s tons of exciting things to be released at CHA winter! i’m really excited to be setting up, working and representing MLS! hope to see you there:)
i’ll be reorganizing, purging, and cleaning more this week- especially since it is a holiday! in between playing kung fu, making gingerbread houses, and hanging with the family, i’ll be cleaning away! i’ll be posting a RAK or two soon…

so stay tuned!

happy sunday!

blessings,

erin

a little birdie told me . . .   November 20, 2008

today, is HER birthday! go give her some lovin!
happy birthday, g!

hello again :)   November 18, 2008

well, it’s been a long time…longer even than my last post truly, is how i feel about missing out on life. now, finally, 3+ weeks post surgery, i’m feeling like my self again…crazy as it sounds, i welcome it! since last friday, i’ve been pain free:) thank you for all of your well wishes, calls, emails, cards, and meals that were given to us. we truly appreciate all of your support.
here’s what has been happening with us lately:
girls’ are doing awesome with swimming!
miss e loves basketball and played in her first tourney a few weekends ago. they all blend together, so not sure when it happened now.
miss m is climbing and jumping everywhere! she won’t just climb normally into her big girl bed nowadays, she has to climb up over the end and then crash down into it. and she has to have an audience while doing so. she climbed into her booster seat at the kitchen table sunday night. that was fun! omgosh, and she is into EVERYTHING! started with her new therapist today, it was harder on mommy than on her. she said “help” for the first time, clear as day. loved it! we celebrated her birthday last weekend. that deserves its own post, for more than one reason. LOL.
suzy and helen are working endlessly on some truly amazing new stuff for MLS to be released at winter CHA. you guys will be all over it! i can’t wait!
next week, i will start ww and hit the gym again! i’ll let the rest speak from our photos- enjoy!

and last but not least, there are some of my kits left from my 5 layouts and 1 card class, at PMP! it was wonderful seeing you, and i missed the rest of you- your kits are with suzy.

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

happy friday!   October 24, 2008

only minimal pain so far today:)
outta my funk.
embracing life.
some MLS DT shares…

layouts and mini featuring the orange marmalade line. YUM. tfl.

the mini is titled [mommy's daily prayers]. something for me and my girls.
and here’s my other trick or treater:

this is her older sisters’ fave costume. we had a make up speech session this morning. her therapist just couldn’t get over how cute she looked! oh, i just cannot believe she will be TWO next month. yikes!

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

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

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!!!

happy tuesday find!   October 14, 2008

check out webster’s pages, if you have not discovered them already…

go here now.

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