New hair do pictures...

Ok finally some pictures of my hair. The first one was taken on the day I got it cut. The other one was taken today. I like it flipped under and tucked behind my ears better than the first day style. It is about an inch shorter than I wanted but I got to donate my hair to Locks of Love. So that was worth the extra shortness. My hair grows so fast that next month I am hoping my hair looks just like I want it. I posted the first picture so you can see the highlights. I actually think I want to go back for more blonde. You can hardly tell that I lightened it. So what do you think?

Close Call!!!

Wednesday night after finishing on the computer in bed I closed my laptop and laid it on the floor next to my bed. I know bad place for it. Anyway, when I woke up I thought to myself move the laptop or move the glass of water on the nightstand above it. Well I got distracted and didn't do either. The bad thing is that Mason has learned how to open my computer. I was getting my hair done and Emily comes running into the bathroom, "Mom, Liberty spilled water all over your computer!!!" NOT GOOD! So I immediately unplugged it and flipped it upside down and open on my bed to drip dry. When I called my brother he told me to remove the battery and don't risk turning it on for at least a couple days. So I have been without my laptop. I was really nervous turning it on this morning. BUT, whew, it looks like everything is ok. Thank heavens I shut the computer off before closing it and going to bed on Wednesday. That would have been an expensive accident.

I got to spend all day Friday at the ScrapbookUSA Expo in Sandy Utah. We left at 8 am and got home this morning at 2 am. It was so much fun and I haven't spent that much money on scrap supplies ever. And the great thing is that I have NO GUILT! So anyway, here is a picture of something I bought that will make you drool...

The My Mind Eye booth had awesome deals all day long and I spent a ton of money at that booth. I thing I got almost every product line they sell at about 80 percent off! Anyway, I better go. I have to get back to the Expo center to pick up that ScrapBox.

When I get back I promise to post a hair picture! Oh and some of the pages I got scrapped yesterday.

I took the plunge...

I am so proud of myself. Today I got really brave and went to the salon and I had them chop off my hair to my chin. But that isn't my biggest step. I actually colored my hair for the first time EVER! OK, that's if you don't count the horrid SUN-IN from the 80's. Anyway, I did some blonde and red highlights. It looks great. However, I am not sure it is enough color for me. I think I may go back and have her add more to it. I don't have tons of time tonight. I am preparing page kits to scrap at the ScrapbookUSA Expo this weekend. I am so excited. After I get those kits finished I will download my pictures and add them here.

I pick up William from the airport tomorrow. I thought Thursday would never get here. Can't wait to have him home. One week from tomorrow we will be packing up and handing over the keys to our home. Sniff.

Funny Email about Mason

I got this email this morning from my friend Marissa who lives across the street. I giggled so much that I just had to post it here to share with you and to get it documented somewhere so I can scrapbook this later. Thanks for sharing this with me Marissa!

Yesterday, your Amy, Emily, and Mason were at my house with Bailey when I got home, and they were making super-hero masks out of paper. They asked me if they could have some string, and I told them I didn't have any, I only had ribbons. THey argued about where they could find some, and they were all talking over each other. Mason kept saying "hey guys, hey guys!" and finally he shouts "hey guys! I know where some is!" and so they followed him into the kitchen. He was very excited that he could tell them where the string was, and proudly led them to the fridge, where he opened the dairy drawer, and removed one string cheese for each of them. Emily rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips, and let out this huge sigh, and says in this exasperated voice "STRING CHEESE!?! How are we supposed to use CHEESE to tie on our masks!?!" and I almost died laughing. I didn't let the boy see me laugh, because I was a little worried that I would make him feel bad. Anyway, that is the story of Mason and the Super-hero string cheese.

Marissa L. Jensen

Growling Girl...

Liberty's new funny thing is growling at us. It started with her imitating William and I when we would get her belly and growl. Now it has evolved into a walk around the house and do it type of thing. Anyway here is a cute video of her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu4a8F1Rh2Y

New addiction...

Here is another page I did today. I copied a sketch I found online. Other than that it was all my own creation. That means it wasn't a pre-made page that I just plopped my pictures into. Anyway, somebody help me get away from my computer. I am so addicted to digital scrapbooking right now. I plan to make some books for Christmas so I am working on digital pages so I can upload them to Shutterfly and have them printed and bound. And I already packed up my scrapbooking stuff to move so I won't be paper scrapping again until I get unpacked. Who knows when that will be. We get to move into the rental house on Friday, October 5th. So I will have Saturday and Sunday to unpack before getting the kids enrolled in school on Monday. Two weeks from tomorrow I will be loading the moving van and crying as I drive away from here. I keep talking so bad about moving away. You probably wonder why I made the decision to move to Las Cruces in the first place. I am actually very excited. I am looking forward to all day kindergarten and I am looking forward to being a stay at home mom, not a work at home mom. I am hoping that Liberty and Mason will give me plenty of time to scrapbook. HA! Wishful thinking I bet!

Getting the hang of this stuff

Yeah for me!!! This is my first digital page that I have created by myself. It took me a long time to make since my program shut down before I saved it and I had to start ALL OVER. I hate that. The second time was a cinch though. Anyway, I bought a new cd at Michaels tonight called Digital Scrapbook Memories. It is a lot easier to use than I thought. I can't wait to learn Photoshop now. I have been using Picture It and I hear from so many people that PS is easier. Maybe I will take a class in New Mexico.

Piles of Smiles

Well, I got another digital layout done tonight. I wanted to share it. I am feeling a bit emotional about this one.

I can't believe I am a mother of five children now. I can't believe how sometimes my love for these little ones overwhelms me. They are the joy of my life. When I watch them play like this and enjoy each other so much it makes all the the frustrations of motherhood go away. It did me some good to scrap these pictures tonight. Being a single mom right now gets the best of me some days, but remembering all the sweetness about my kids sure helps me get past the times when I want to crawl in bed and make everyone leave me alone. Ever have those days.

Makenna is my life saver right now. She is so grown up and for the most part very responsible. She has way to much responsibility right now. I rely on her to help me with the kids while William is away. She babysits a lot so I can go shopping, clean and pack the house, or just to get out. I try hard right now to make sure she knows how much I appreciate her.

Amy is my sweetheart. She leaves me notes around the house telling me how much she loves me. Now if that doesn't remind a mother how much she is loved then I don't know what will. Amy is a sweetie to everyone she knows. Everyone loves her.

Emily, my giggly little girl. This is the laugh that is so contagious. Some days I tickle her just to make me smile. But the real joy is when I hear her and her siblings giggling together.

Mason, oh boy! He is the one making me crazy right now. He is like a whirlwind through the house undoing the things I do. When I clean he is right behind me making things messy. When I pack he unpacks. His curiousity is getting the best of him. He is into everything now that he sees me going through everything. HOWEVER, he is my sweet little boy who loves me so much. He loves to snuggle his momma. And hearing the sweet little voice saying "I'm sorry mommy" just melts my heart.

Liberty is growing so fast. She thinks she is as big as her family. She follows Mason around and does everything he does. She plays in the garage now climbing on the quads and bikes and trikes. She eats chalk and playdoh. She is very attached to her momma but her only word she says is Dad! Her eyes light up when she hears her dad on the phone. Oh and something else that makes me smile is how affectionate she is with Mason. She loves to snuggle him. And when he makes her mad she now says another word. The last few days she learned to say DON'T. She even shakes her finger at him when she says it. It cracks me up.

There are so many reasons to smile these days. I just have to put myself in a quiet place and think about them and everything is so much easier to handle.

Middle name game...

Ok, I have been tagged again. But this is one I haven't ever seen before. So here goes...

The fun middle-name game!

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts.
4. At the end of your blog-post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

I wasn't given a middle name as a kid and never REALLY wished for one. Some friends called me Marie since it sounded good with it. So here is mine.

M - moving STINKS! I really want to stay here in Logan even though there are so many more reasons to move. I love it here and am a little nervous about meeting new friends again.
A - affectionate. I love to love all over my little ones. Even Makenna gets smothered with kisses still.
R - Reader. I have been bitten by the reading bug again. I love to read.
I - Intelligent. Although some may disagree I have always thought of myself as an intelligent person. I am pretty smart but lazy at studying. I pick up on things pretty fast.
E - energy...Where can I get more of this?

Ok 5 people I tag are Ranae, Danette, Lucy, Angie, Tiffany D

Being productive...

Today I took advantage of Liberty's 4 hour nap. The girls took Mason and went to the school playground for 3.5 hours and I spent some time downstairs being really productive. I packed up and cleaned Amy's and Emily's rooms. And I got the downstairs kitchen packed and the bathroom packed. After cleaning the bedrooms I locked the doors so no one goes in them and messes them up. I don't want to have to clean much on moving day. I want to be able to just clean the kitchen up and go. Nice plan, we'll see how that goes. I am actually thinking about farming out my kids that night, just to keep the house clean. Hehe!

So this morning the appraiser came to our home. I wasn't expecting him until the 21st. So it was a pleasant surprise. Our buyers want to close by the end of the month so I am doing everything I can to make that happen. The sooner we close the sooner we can be with William again. Those who know how indepent I am may be surprise to hear how much I miss him. I am really lonely here without him. SIGH! I love and miss you honey!

So my neighbor asked me tonight if I care if he mows my front yard. He almost did it today but said he wasn't sure how we liked it so he thought he would ask me first. I had to chuckle. If you want to mow my yard for me I would never tell you how to do it. I think I will make a big batch of cookie for Monday in case my yard does get mowed. Our sprinklers have been off for a week now cause I keep thinking I'll get to it today. But the days just fly by too fast. Maybe I will get a sitter for Liberty on Monday morning so I can get it finished before my grass and plants all die.

I saw Hairspray last night with Makenna. I took her to the movies since she has been babysitting so much lately with William gone. She was having issues with stress recently so I had to do something to help her relax. I think I am going to have her invite a friend over after school one day next week.

Busy day, gotta blog

So today started out with me rushing to get ready and out the door with all 5 kids. I sent Amy and Emily off on their bikes and then took Makenna to school so I could go talk to her teacher. Makenna got tested for her reading level yesterday. They do an Accelerated Reading program that tests the kids on the computer according to their placement. So she scored a 10.8 That means 10th grade 8th month of school. So she is almost at a high school Junior's reading level. Here is the problem with that. The only books that the 5th grade library stop at an 8 or 9 reading level. There are very few that are actually in her level but they are the classics like Little Women, The Time Machine, A Tale of Two Cities, etc. Can you see a 5th grader being interested in those. Those books would put me to sleep. Sorry to those who love those books but those just aren't the books that keep her hooked on reading. She read Inkheart this summer and this school year she has already read Peter and the Star Catchers and The Golden Compass. But those books are too low for her to take AR tests on them. So we have to get the teacher to adjust her level in the computer so she can take those tests and read those books that make her love to read.

Ok another Big thing... Happy Birthday Libby Lu!!!

I can't believe it has already been a year. We went shopping today and I bought her some new Robees. Those are shoes for those who have no clue. And, I bought her several adorable new outfits. She is getting so big. She already wears 12 to 18 months. Her teeth are coming in funny. She got her second incisors before getting the middle ones. Here is a funny picture I took the other day.

Today was beautiful weather. At noon it was only 67 degrees. By 5 pm it was about 78. So it never got above 80 today. This is my favorite season. And to celebrate selling the house I went and bought bike for me and a bike trailer for Liberty and Mason. Mason will most likely just ride beside me on his own quad. I spent the evening after kids were in bed assembling it. Well actually it only took a few minutes but I was on the phone with William for a while so it took me all evening to get started.

Well, that is all for today. Tomorrow I have to whip this house into shape cause it looks trashed.

TOTAL MOMSENSE

My girlfriend Joey sent me this to enjoy and it is really cute so I thought I would pas it on to all of you moms or not yet moms who swore you will never be like your mother and then now you find yourself saying and doing the same things that you mom did.

So enjoy this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlY8STkhopc

Trying my hand at Digital Scrapbooking...

Well, I am done packing up my craft room. Yeah it feels good to have that part over. However, that was before we accepted an offer for our house from a family that will close mid October if not sooner. So that means about 4 weeks of nothing to scrapbook with. So I bought a cd called Clean and Simple digital scrapbooking. It is pages by Cathy Zeilske. They are fun and easy. I think I am finally figuring out how to use the program. So in the next few weeks I hope to do a ton of digital scrapping. Here are two pages I have finished...

I think this will be a fun adventure but I will never give up my love of the hands on scrapbooking.

And here is one I did in honor of Liberty's first birthday tomorrow! Happy birthday Baby Girl!

We SOLD the house!!!

Well, I know some of my friends and family have been looking here to see if we sold yet. YES WE DID! We got a new family who came in on Labor Day to look at the house. No realtors involved. Anyway, they gave us a great offer that we were happy with and so we are in the process of getting packed now. They want to close soon so they can remodel (turn my craft room into a piano/living room) and move in before the snow comes. So we are good with closing asap. Problem is that the appraisal is not until the 21st of September. So we have to wait a bit to get moved. William says I have to stay here until we close cause we can't afford to move before that. We need the cash to move so we don't have to put anything on credit cards. My how different he and I are. I am so impulsive and would love to put it on the credit card and move so I can get to NM to be with him. He on the other hand thinks everything through and worries about what if we don't close and we have to relist the house, etc. No money to pay off the cards. His severance will come sometime in October we think. Not sure though. So we are just being a little more careful with money now. But everything is wonderful here now that the really big stress of keeping the house showable is over. Whew! Done in 3 weeks. No one ever thought we'd sell that fast. Lucky us! Blessed is more like it.

Bra Shopping...

Yep, we finally went bra shopping for Makenna. She is so private anymore that it took me taking her in to try them on to really see how big she is getting. She was a little shy at first but after trying on the first one she was so excited. She got three cute bras, a pink and black one, a black one, and a white one. Then she asked "Mom, why do they make bras so cute if no one is going to see them?" Hmmm, good question. How do you answer a question like that? So my little girl is now officially growing up. Yeah she has worn a bra for a while now but they were just small thin sports bras that were more like an undershirt. So this feels like a milestone in our house. Sigh!

Got an offer today!

Well, we finally got an offer that we can live with. However, they needed to make it contingent on the closing of their house. They were supposed to close this Friday, but they pushed it back a little since they just had a baby. Their buyer wants to close sooner so they are going to try to push it up. We will see what happens. I sure like this family and really hope they end up with our home. If they can close this Friday on their home and our home is still available then we will get a contract and get the ball rolling. Until then our plan is to send William back to New Mexico by plane this Saturday. Then when we get a contract then he will come home to sign and move us. Exciting but...still dreading the thought of leaving this place.

Other news, Emily is officially in school and loving it. When we get to NM she will be in all day kindergarten. Did I already post that in my last post? Mason is talking about going to preschool in NM so maybe I may just get to have Libby at home with me for the morning and then she and Mason will take a nap while I scrap in the afternoon.

"Mom read this to me. It's a magazine. Please" That is what I hear a lot lately. This is Mason's new favorite reading material. Geeze kid, couldn't you ask me to read you Paper crafts or something? I love to see my sweet boy turning into a mini version of his Daddy.
You should see hime ride around the neighborhood on his quad along side William on his. It melts my heart. If my camera wasn't BROKEN... UUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!

Here's the scoop...

I didn't realize I had never said what William is doing for a job in New Mexico. He and his best friend from high school are starting a mortgage brokerage together. Things are going very well for them and they are well on their way to getting their office up and running. So it is going to be nice for William to be the boss for a change.

The other scoop I am sure you are wondering about is that we still haven't heard from that couple who gave us a verbal offer. But since then we have had two morecouples interested in making an offer. But one went out of town for the weekend and didn't want to make a decision until they get home. The other couple made us an offer that we had to turn down. It just wasn't close to what we need to get out of our house. I hope they reconsider later cause I loved this family and thought they will fit into our neighborhood so well.

I listed the house on the MLS today. I hope that gives us some real serious offers soon so I can go to New Mexico with William. He found us a 2700 sq ft rental. It is only 4 bedrooms but I think my craft room is going in the huge master suite. Then we will give Mason his own room and 2 girls to each room. The house is in a new subdivision that I liked a lot when I went house hunting with William.

William is here to visit for the next week. It is so nice to have him here again. It seems strange to sleep in this big bed all alone.