Saturday, February 28, 2009

My Baby as a Cartoon?? Interesting!!

http://www.befunky.com/

Found this site to be quite addicting.....thought I'd share one of my creations....Garrett as a cartoon, who'd of thunk it! LOL

Can You Hear Me Now

So it's rainy and nasty here today....and Garrett is with his Dad.....so no excuse not to scrap right?? Right!! So here's one that really came together quickly for me, and I'm pretty pleased with the way it came out! Thanks for looking !



…I sure hope so, NOW anyways. Garrett you are always listening to Mommy’s Ipod loudly, really loudly!! And now we know why!! I took you to the doctor today for a routine prescription follow up! We take your shirt off like we were asked to do, and waited for Dr. Sy. Once he arrived he asked me a few questions, and then began examining you. When he looks into your right ear, he said “Oh My. What’s in there”….and after some effort he proceeds to pull out a starburst candy wrapper from your ear. I swear it was GROSS!! It actually looked like an earthworm or something similar. And your reasoning?? You had put the paper in your ear during your Christmas Concert in December (almost 2 months ago to the day). That paper has been in there TWO MONTHS!! You said the concert was too loud and you wanted to block out some of the noise. Dr. Sy said that every time we cleaned your ear with Q-tips we were actually pushing it in further. Luckily there was no damage or infection. And of course, you just shrug your shoulders and said “I forgot I put it there”!!

**originally I had thought it was Christmas paper, but Garrett corrected me....it was a starburst candy wrapper!

Friday, February 27, 2009

Lunch with Garrett

Shawn and I went and had lunch with Garrett today. I was going to go last Friday for his birthday, but since he was still sick, he didn't go to school. Luckily Shawn was off this morning and he could go with us!! Apparently right before we got there, Garrett had accidentally stuck himself in the eye with his pencil, so the area all around the outside of his eye is all red….but he seems fine now….thank goodness. That could have wound up ugly!! We walked to the lunchroom with Garrett and his class, and then actually went through the lunch line with him….wow!! I haven’t been through a school lunch line in many, many years! One of the “cool” things is that if your parents come to have lunch with you, you get to pick two of your classmates to sit with you, and of course everybody wanted to sit with us, but he finally picked two of his friends – Tyr’Ronn and Joe. The two boys were completely adorable and loud. I’m not even sure when they had time with all of the talking to even eat! I do know that when it was time to go, there was still tons of food left on their plates….kinda feel bad about that….I know they should have eaten, but they were just so talkative and excited. Garrett was happy!! He hugged me several times, and thanked me for coming!! Made my day.




After lunch was over, we walked Garrett back to class. Luckily for us that we had chosen today to have lunch with him! Ms. Pownall has been trying to get Garrett to do his Black History Month presentation in front of the class, but he’s just been a tad bit afraid to do it....well with me there, I gave him that extra boost of confidence. I stood beside him while he read his report, and slowing inched my way away from him. When he was finished reading his report, he wanted to read the backs of his cards, I told him that he didn't have too, but he said he WANTED to, so I let him finish his presentation. He did a really good job with the whole thing and I'm very thankful that I could be there while he presented it to his class!


Day #58 -Picture #58

Thurgood Marshall Presentation



Today Shawn and I went and had lunch with Garrett. Luckily for us that we had chosen today! Ms. Pownall was trying to get Garrett to do his Black History Month presentation in front of the class, but he was just a bit afraid to do it....well with me there, I gave him that extra boost of confidence. I stood beside him while he read his report, and slowing inched my way away from him. When he was finished reading his report, he wanted to read the backs of his cards, I told him that he didn't have too, but he said he WANTED to, so I let him finish his presentation. He did a really good job with the whole thing and I'm very thankful that I could be there while he presented it to his class!

American Idol Group #2

So okay....I have to admit that there are several people that I really, really like this season, but the way they're picking the top twelve is really weird for me....it's sooooo hard to choose. Thank goodness for the wildcard episode that they're gonna do, so maybe some of my other favorites will still have a chance....

As for me, I love Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert, and Kris Allen. I have to admit that I really was in complete shock when they told Kris that he made it last night and that Meghan had not! Complete shock!! Of course I'm completely convinced that my 100 text votes made all the difference in the world!! No seriously, I really did vote that many times....and the sad thing is, I've never really watched American Idol until last season when I met Shawn....now we have several shows that we watch together, and if we can't watch them together, we DVR them and watch them at a later time, together! Suuuu-weet I know!

Anyways I just wanted to share my happiness for Kris Allen! Simon was right, the women ARE gonna love him!! ME included!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

8th Birthday Layout

So it felt good to scrapbook again....haven't done any in almost a month! Ughhh! Anyways, this is a first of the Birthday layouts to come! Thanks for looking!

Day #57 - Picture #57

My Office at Work




I know I’ve posted a picture of me at work before, but I’ve never really taken a picture of “my office” per say. So today, I figured I’d do just that! As you can see by all the paperwork, that that’s what my job pretty much entails! I handle all of the Accounts Payable, and several other different duties!! The basic ones stay the same, but since there are only four of us in the office, we all try to cross-train as much as possible so when someone is out, we can all help out!! Just look at all that shredding up against the wall that needs to be done! And notice the heater under my desk (which IS on right now)!! It’s a shame that I work for a heating and air conditioning company, and we all have our own heaters and fans under our desks….. too many hormones in the building I guess! LOL. As for my office, nothing to terribly exciting about it…just wanted to share with you where I spend the majority of my time when I’m not at home! Gotta have my antenna-less radio….on Q98, and of course pictures of my children, most used phone numbers, as well as artwork Garrett has made for me over time.

Wanted to share these

Since I had already taken my "picture of the day" yesterday, I figured I'd share these on my blog here. As I was driving home from work yesterday this is how the sky above looked! I can't recall when I have seen it like this before, but honestly I rarely pay attention.....I just thought this was really cool looking and wanted to share!


Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Day #56 - Picture #56

My New Clock



I’ve wanted a clock for the wall ever since Garrett and I first moved into the apartment in December of 2007. Up until this point, I just haven’t found one that I really liked, that wasn’t too big, or that I could afford. Geez they can be expensive!! Well, this past Friday night, after my incident at AT&T, we met our friends at Target! Well I found this clock and fell in love with it immediately! And best of all, it was quite affordable!! So I bought it!! Now five days later, it’s still leaning up against the wall on the floor…I know where I want to hang it, it’s just that I can’t do it myself, and with Shawn working all day long until after ten every night this week, I hate to ask him to help me put it up….hopefully this Friday will be the day as he’s off for most of the day…..*please overlook the Nerf dart bullet on the floor.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Can't believe it's Tuesday already....

With so much going on the past week or so, and with illnesses left and right, I haven't had much time to just sit down and spend time on the computer...I have tried really hard to keep up with my 365 Project as I fear if I get behind on that, then it'll be a nightmare trying to catch up...

Garrett turned eight on Sunday...Can't believe how time has flown by....and just think, Jackie will be 21 in less than two weeks! holy cow, no wonder I'm getting a new patch of grey these days....

Thought I'd share a few pictures to highlight Garrett's birthday for you!


**Pancakes and Bacon per his request!! *Notice his cute artwork on the wall behind
him!!


We got him a Wii for his birthday with an additional game! He was in complete heaven at this point!!



Playing some Spong Bob before we left to pick up Lamaar and head to Fun Fun FUn for his Birthday Party!


Fun Fun Fun


The Birthday Boy!

Make a Wish Little Man!! (Cake Number One!! Yummy - Ice Cream Cake from Dairy Queen!)

I'm really glad that his Dad decided to make an appearance! I was really proud of him. It was really good for Garrett to have him there too!!


Opening a few gifts! You can't imagine how many cards with $$$ in them that he got today!

Just a few of the Party Guests, a couple more arrived after the picture was taken!




He and his classmates had an absolute blast playing the video games, especially the Alien one....they just kept continuously feeding the machine tokens....I think at one point, Garrett used every single one that he had on that game...

Then shortly after 4:30 Garrett came to me and said that he was ready to go home that he was tired, and didn't feel well....keep in mind he had been sick all week...I think at one point his exact words were "I'm all partied out Mom". So we went home and let him rest for a bit. Lamaar was still with us too! A little later we went to Wally World and let Garrett spend his birthday money....he bought a Nerf Wii game that came with the gun, and a game for his Nintendo DS....I think he had right at $64.00 dollars!

Later we ordered Pizza and let the boys play the Wii for awhile!

It was quite entertaining to watch Garrett play boxing...I can't remember when I've laughed so hard!!

Then before we took Lamaar home, we had Cake #2 for the night, and of course, another wish just had to be made!!

Day #55 - Picture #55


Missing my Mom

It's hard to believe that this April my mom will have been gone six years....she chose to be cremated when she passed. No one really knows for sure why, but we all assume it was due to financial reasons. Anyways, this April my Dad will have been gone for two years. Up until my Dad passed away, he held onto her ashes. When he passed away, he was cremated as well. He wouldn't let any of us have her ashes or split her up in any way. He said she belonged with him. There are several different stories on where she wanted to go, but no one was willing to put up much of a fight. I do know that she died in Florida, and wanted to come home. For her, home was North Carolina, where we were from, and where she grew up, and so forth. But like I said, my Dad wasn't budging. He knew and agreed that when he passed we could seperate their ashes. I opted for just getting some of my Mom's while, my little brother Ike (long story on him), who was still in the home, got a small mixture of both in a heart trinket like mine. The remaining ashes were put side by side in really nice urns, to be buried at some point. But my brother Greg, or any of my other siblings aren't ready to do that just yet. I received my ashes in the mail in April of 2007, and up until tonight they have sat in the box that they came in in my closet. I've been meaning to get them out and put them on the bookcase for a really long time now, but haven't really been able to do it....tonight I was!! I just had this need to talk to my Mom, just one last time, and to be near her....and this is my way! I still remember her last words to me...."I Love You" and "Take Care of My Babies"....Gosh I miss her!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Day #54 - Picture #54

And So His New Addiction Begins...

Day #53 - Picture #53

Birthday Boy



So today, Garrett turned eight years old. Wow how times flies....it seems like just yesterday....I know, I know, you don't need me to go down memory lane with this one....Anyways, the day started off with a birthday breakfast by request, made by Shawn. That breakfast would be pancakes and bacon! Yummy. We of course had to serve them with a candle...Then we gave him his birthday present....a Wii and a game to go along with it! Shortly thereafter, Garrett left for a bit to go with his Dad to his Grandmother's house for lunch!

will finish in a bit....

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Day #52 - Picture #52

My New Phone



Okay so I finally caved and upgraded my phone yesterday...I can't really say that I needed to upgrade, but I kinda wanted too especially since mine was getting kinda loose when you open it up. It worked fine and everything, but still...Garrett and I went to AT&T yesterday evening. I looked at several different phone, many nice, nice ones too! I even had my hands on the Iphone (thanks Jackie), and even the Vue, but just could not justify the $$ or the need. So I opted for my original choice, and that was the LG Shine. So everything went fine. I had my phone picked out, and was sitting with a customer rep within fifteen minutes flat. I chose the red Shine, but as he was ringing it up and transferring my contacts I kept contemplating the black....but I stuck to the red. Paid for my phone, got a quick lesson on how to use it, and was probably out of there within thirty minutes. As I was leaving, Garrett and I walked a few stores down to AC Moore, and then called Gnell. Told her that I was on my way to Target to meet them....as I was pulling out of the parking lot, I happened to look down at my phone and noticed a "FATAL ERROR" message on my phone. I was like OMG!! I hadn't even left the parking lot of the shopping center....so I of course turned around, parked again, and went back into AT&T....apparently they had never seen that error either! All of my phone numbers were in that phone!! I can't say that I even have any numbers memorized anymore...so I couldn't call anyone to tell them what was going on...all I could do was wait....and wait. This time the wait was longer than before, as it was Friday night, and I had to wait for my representative to finish with his current customer....so they basically just said that I must have gotten a lemon, apologized numerous times, and gave me a new phone.....this time I opted for the black one!! So right now, all I can say is that I'm in love! Love it!

Day #51 - Picture #51

Asleep at Red Robin



Okay, so Garrett and I both stay home again today...neither of us feeling 100%, but both well on our way to completely being over whatever it is that we have going on. Funny thing is, all of us have had different symptoms so it's kinda hard to say whether or not we all had the same thing or not. We did have errands to run this afternoon. Feeling bad or not, they just had to be done, not to mention Garrett's birthday is this weekend and we had made plans with our friends to go out together and celebrate. That celebration being going to Red Robin for dinner. We went kinda late, but Shawn was working and we were trying to wait on him! So about nine o'clock we made it there. Sat down, ordered our food, and out came the fries...I'd say within ten minutes of getting the fries, Garrett was crashed. Funny thing is, I took several different pictures today, but since this "sleeping" thing of Garrett's has come be be something of a routine, I figured this was the picture! Every single time we have gone out to Red Robin with Gary, Gnell and the kids, Garrett falls asleep. Unfortunately for Garrett tonight, he missed out on his hot fudge sundae and them singing Happy Birthday to him! Hmmuuuuummmm wonder if that's why he went to sleep!

Day #50 - Picture #50

Sickness is in the House!



So yesterday Garrett stayed home from school and Richie stayed home with him...he ran a 101 plus fever all night long and by this morning, he was still running a fever and couldn't go to school. Richie had already missed all of last week due to the flu, so it was my turn to stay home. Shawn has also been home sick since Monday as well, and had just gone back to work today. I haven't felt well either, and left work early yesterday because of it...so today Garrett and I pretty much spent the day lounging in bed, sleeping, and then sleeping some more. Today I opted for a picture of Garrett asleep in my bed. He fell asleep watching tv...again. I almost took a picture of all the different medicines that we were all taking, but that would have entailed cleaning off the bathroom counter, and I didn't have the energy for that!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Sick, sick, sick...

Let's just say the nastiness has worked it's way all through my house....Garrett...Shawn, and now me!! Yuck! Yuck! Yuck! I hope I get to feeling better soon....so much to do, especially with Garrett's birthday party this weekend!!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Reminder

Ok, so I'm not quite forty yet, but I will be this year!! A co-worker e-mailed this to me today, and I thought it was quite funny, so I figured I'd share!

In case you missed it on 60 Minutes, this is what Andy Rooney thinks about women over 40:
60 Minutes Correspondent Andy Rooney (CBS)

As I grow in age, I value women over 40 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:

A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask, 'What are you thinking?' She doesn't care what you think. If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it's usually more interesting. Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it. Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated. Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 40. Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier than her younger counterpart. Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her. Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed, hot woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress. Ladies, I apologize.

For all those men who say, 'Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?', here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage Why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage!

Andy Rooney is a really smart guy!

What is up with all the Danny Gokey Haters?

Found this on the internet this morning! Found it interesting!! Have to admit that I am a Danny Gokey fan!

"American Idol" has baked up some fresh heroes and villains for your consumption this season, but many fans are already rejecting the star-making machine's attempts to package 28-year-old Danny Gokey as the frontrunner. And some bloggers have gotten downright mean about it. Gokey's biggest mistake? Offering up his real-life personal tragedy (the death of his wife) for producers to weave into an emotional back story about overcoming obstacles and keeping the dream alive.

Over at EW.com, Michael Slezak and Kristen Baldwin came out swinging in their online video show "Idolatry." "He is pimping the memory of his dead wife to get votes. It's disgusting," said Baldwin. "It's really appalling the way that he has used her to get on the show and now to get votes. I'm not saying he didn't love his wife. I'm not saying he's not sad that she's gone. But he's clearly using his grief for his own advantage, and it's gross." Slezak agrees that Gokey is exploiting his tragedy. "You don't need to keep her memory alive for 25 million viewers who don't know her," added Slezak. "When you start showing a picture, pointing to heaven, talking about inspiration, it seems to me a sort of clear effort to get people to vote for you."

In a conference call with press last Thursday, Gokey responded openly about this type of reaction. "It's only been seven months since she's passed. This is who I am. It's not that I throw it in people's faces, but I get asked about it all the time, especially like right now. I'm talking about it at this point. It weighs on my mind a lot, though, because honestly, this is a sob story I don't want," Gokey explained. "I don't want this story, but it is shaping my life and it's causing hope for a lot of people, knowing that it's causing hope for my life. I didn't want to live any more after she passed."

Why is all of this animosity being directed at Danny Gokey instead of "Idol" producers, who are clearly fanning the embers of this emotional back story to create a more engaging show? My best guess is that they feel that he shouldn't have fed the beast in the first place. Message boards are buzzing with "Idol" fans comparing how former contestants handled the telling of their personal stories. David Cook kept a fairly tight lid on his brother's illness, but remember the focus put on Elliott Yamin's ailing mother? The lesson here is that when it comes to sharing information about your personal life, less is more.

"Idol" expert Jeffrey Christian explains his frustration with Gokey in his American Idol Report Card blog. "I'm beyond irritated at this whole 'The Chosen One' verbiage that surrounds him. Perhaps I could comprehend it if his performances displayed even a scintilla of greatness, but for what we've been allowed to see so far, Gokey is an adequate vocalist, with some interpretive skills, has yet to blow anything out the box, but has a damned juicy/sad back story."

Gokey acknowledges that he's gotten some extra support from the show, but hopes that people won't hold that against him. "Honestly, I do feel that I was highlighted. There's no getting around that. I didn't do anything to get that. I can say this; I'm grateful that they would do that. I have no control over it," he said. "I know everyone's not going to like me -- that goes without saying. But it's a bummer when people are just real mad about it. I had nothing to do with it and I hope people can see past that and just see that I genuinely just love to sing and that's what I want to do."

The heat on Danny Gokey won't relent anytime soon, but after losing the most important person in his life, I'm guessing that he's got this whole "American Idol" experience in the proper perspective. It's just a TV show.

Sunday February 15th

Shawn of course had to work ....opening to close....Gosh that gets so old!! But yet again, I can't complain because he does have a job, and there are so many people out there who don't or who are about to lose theirs!!

Richie brought Garrett home around lunch time today! Garrett has a Black History month project on Thurgood Marshall due this coming Tuesday, and we were no where near done with it...of course when it comes to things like this, Richie isn't much help either! So Garrett and I pretty much spent the whole day working on his project, and he played on his computer off and on throughout the day and during our breaks from his project! I have to say that it all came together nicely and I think Garrett did a really good job with it! I'm so amazed daily at his ability to retain the information that he takes in. Both of my children have been blessed with that ability!! Hopefully he'll get a really good grade on this project....especially since he did work really hard, plus since he went back to school after Christmas break, he seems to finally be settling in at school....

A little after six or so, Garrett did tell me that he wasn’t feeling so well, and that he wanted to lay down…..so I started panicking just a bit. I was praying that he wasn’t coming down with the flu like Richie had….I did take his temperature and he had a 101.2 fever, so I gave him some Tylenol and put him in my bed and let him lay there and watch tv…. I had also given him some cold medicine earlier in the day for his cough and congestion.






Around 7:00 I think it was, the Pokemon Movie came on on Cartoon Network! I didn’t realize that it was the same one that Garrett had just gotten the poster of on Friday at Toys R Us, and one of the main characters in the movie was Shaymin….the character that they were giving away at the DS Docking station at the store!! The name of the movie was Giratina and the Sky Warrior!! Had to chuckle to myself though…Garrett / Giratina….male/ female…oh well! It takes so little to make me chuckle these days!!



By the time the movie was half over, Garrett was feeling much better and ready to eat. So I fed him, bathed him, and sent him off to bed…. if he felt okay in the morning (and with no fever), he was going to go to school the next day!!

Valentine's Day

Today we all slept in…not really sure why, maybe just everything was catching up with us, and all of us seem to be on the verge of getting sick, but none of us quite giving in to it!! Thank goodness!! Richie called and said that he felt better and was going to try and come and get Garrett for the weekend!





So before Garrett left today, I went ahead and gave him his Valentine Goodies….Well, we all know about Garrett's obsession with Webkinz…and his Webkinz count total is up to 15 now, with the addition of the "Love Monkey" today. He named her "lovely", and was a request for Valentine's Day. So when I gave him his little bag of goodies and this monkey, he just looked at me and smiled, and told me that I was the best. How sweet is that? He was happy, and that makes me happy! Happy Valentine's Day Little Man!

Also had to take a few extras....hoping to scrap a layout with these!





Shawn of course had to work, so that put a damper on any plans that we may have wanted to make….but that’s okay as I went to the mall to see him instead!! He took a short break and we walked around the mall together. I then came home and made us dinner, so that when he got home we could eat and spend some time together. And since our time together lately has been really very little, we try to take advantage of every moment possible!!

Friday February 13th



I still have Garrett tonight too! Even though it's Richie's weekend, he is still really, really sick and agreed to let me keep Garrett for him for another night! So, after work we headed off to Toys R Us. They were giving away the Mysterious Shaymin Pokemon.... Basically we had to take Garretts Nintendo DS and his Diamond & Pearl Version Pokemon Games to the DS Download Station at Toys R Us. He then stood by the DS in the store and "linked" up to it. He then was given the Shaymin Pokemon Character. He was so excited to get this character because it is very, very rare and you can't catch it. They also gave us a small Pokemon poster and a $5.00 off coupon for any Pokemon game....



Then off to the mall to see Shawn, have some ice cream, and spend a little money! Clinque Bonus time again ladies!! Then I let Garrett ride the carousel twice, and fed him Chic-fil-a....a must everytime we go to the mall!!

Day #48 - Picture #48

Black History Month Project
Thurgood Marshall



As we all know February is Black History Month, and Garrett was given his first official assignment related to this! He was given Thurgood Marshall as his person to focus on. I of course helped him find information, but for the most part Garrett surprisingly did the majority of this project. He really retained so much of the information that he read on Thurgood Marshall too. I really enjoyed quizzing him and having him answer me with the correct answers. Makes a Mom proud! The project is due today, and I figured it would be the perfect picture for the day! Requirements for the project were to write a report, and then cover a cereal box and decorate it, and then fill your box with at least eight things relating to your person! We chose pictures, memorials, time lines, stamps, quotes, and several different items! We (notice I said we) put a lot of research into this!