Just Call Me...

::::::::::Nicknames:::::::
Eve, Noah and I were discussing nicknames. I call Eve, Eveybug and I call Noah, No E Monster. They have a boy that they know at school named Robert and they were asking what are nicknames for his name. I threw out Bob, Bobby, and Rob. Noah suggested "Bobert". I told him I had never heard of anyone going by that, but you never know. Then Noah said, "You can love me. You can even worship me, just don't call me No E Monster. If you are going to worship me you can call me Noah the Great.

I think we all can safely say that I will be continuing with the No E Monster...thanks for the suggestion though.

Here are some new digital pages of the kiddos:

::::::Some of My Favorite Layouts and Why::::::::

This layout was a fun science experiment we did with the kids to answer a question they had:

It was fun to show this photo to Eve since she is in 1st grade now:

I love some of the stuff Noah thinks deeply about:

I was amazed at the artwork that captivated Noah the longest:

I have never seen an episode of Survivor, but from what people talk about I think this captures the essence of a show in a twisted and fun way:

We really enjoyed visiting New York City and I love this layout because the artwork is a sketch Michael did that I extracted and made the lines white instead of black:

:::::::::::::::::Birthday Dinner::::::

We just got back from Granny Sydney's house. She made Michael a yummy birthday dinner. We had rolls, barbequed spareribs, corn, green beans, and rice. She made brownies for dessert. The kids had fun playing with the snow on the back deck and with some of the toys. Michael and I had fun just getting to talk with his mom. Thanks, Sydney!


Time to read...The Wordy Shipmates

Smiles

I Need A New Perspective

_{Credits: Photos by Marcus John Taylor
DJB TANYA by Darcy Baldwin at The Digichick
Come Out and Play collab by Kate Hadfield, Catrine and Birgit
Primaveria Collaboration at Catscraps.
Swirl Therapy by Jofia Designs at The Digichick
Font: CK Ali's writing}

This layout is true on more than one level. It has been a hard year schooling Aaron, and an exceptionally difficult week. I took a break for most of the day, yesterday.

:::::::::::::Indexed::::::

This is another hilarious card from Indexed:




Michael would whole heartedly agree.

::::::::::::::::Girl Scout Cookie.......

deliveries are going pretty well. I took Rachel to Michael's work so she could hand out cookies and collect the money. Michael's associates were very friendly, especially Keith. They appreciated that a "real" Girl Scout was behind the form that dad brought to work. Rachel was very polite and warmed up quickly to her giddy self.

::::::::::::::::Forgot to Mention::::::::

This is Grandpa Jim's version of the weekend with grandkids. He always makes me laugh about their antics...it's that or cry...or maybe scream. Laughing is far superior.

::::::::::::::::Food:::::::::::::

Yesterday, Michael made his awesome chicken soup. Aaron, Rachel and I always want the noodles, Eve wants EXTRA carrots and all the kids want dad to throw in some alphabet noodles for fun. Noah just wonders when we are going to serve him something with ketchup.

I made Granny Sydney's recipe for "Funeral Potatoes" just for fun. She told me to use hashbrown style potatoes in the frozen foods, 1 can of cream of chicken soup, 1 small tub of sour cream and a tablespoon of grated onion. Sprinkle the top with cheese and melt to finish. Her outcome was better, but mine passed with a B.

::::::::Time to Wake up the kids and dose Noah with his meds.

Later!

:::::::::::::::

Feeling Puny

Howdy folks! I am feeling a bit under the weather today. My tonsils are swollen, but I don't have a fever, so who knows what I'm harboring.

::::::::::::::::::::::Yesterday::::::::::::::

was a busy one. The sister missionaries from our church came over for dinner. We prepared breakfast for dinner. We had bacon, french toast and scrambled eggs. The sisters were adventurous and poured Pomegranate 7Up into their orange juice. The kids were their usually rowdy selves. At one point, we got on the subject of animals who run in front of cars like opossums and deer. This sequed into Noah wanting to tell the missionaries one of his favorite jokes which starts out like this: What is the difference between beer nuts and deer nuts? At this point Michael and I frantically call him off before he can give the punch line. The sister missionaries just looked at me and laughed because I couldn't stop laughing and had turned beet red. So, the kids started telling more benign jokes. Rachel new several blonde jokes and their were a couple from the show The Vicar of Dibley that the kids could share.

:::::::::::::::::::::::Wilton Cake Art I:::::::

I ran off to take my first cake decorating class and got there with 5 minutes to spare. We learned about the recipes and uses for the different consistencies of icing and some basic frosting methods. My homework assignment is to bake a cake and have it frosted and ready for decorating next week.

:::::::::::::::::::::::Court of Honor::::::::

Aaron and Michael have a Court of Honor tonight for Scouts. Michael took the day off because he has been run ragged at work and home for a couple of weeks and needed to slow down. Unfortunately, he has to run to Lawrenceville to pick up the badges because the person that said they could pick them up Sunday has a meeting downtown and can't make it out there. Typical.

:::::::::::::::::::::::Weekend Update:::::::::::::::

I almost forgot to talk about our fun trip to Shakespeare's Tavern. The night was frigid, but it was just fine inside the tavern. We had balcony seats, which was great to see all parts of the stage at once. The play for the evening was "Twelfth Night". The actors did a marvelous job. Michael and I took his mom and my mother to see the play. The music for the play was just perfect, too. We ate at the tavern and the food was rather tasty. I had the sheperd's pie, Michael had the Hearty Lentil soup, Sydney had the Cornish Pasty and my mom opted for the Salmon and Leek pie. YUM! During intermission Michael had a apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. So, we were well fed and the play was awesome. When we left the downtown Atlanta night scene was just getting started and the some homeless people were outside the door.

Michael and I want to bring Aaron and Rachel back to the tavern to see "A Midsummer's Night Dream". We thought it would be fun to have Michael's family and my mom to return during the holidays at the end of the year to see "A Christmas Carol". We will have to see if any of them are interested.

I'm going to go take a lie down and read.

Smiles!

Miscellanous Things and Stuff For Today:

This was the little page I turned into Rachel's pre-school teacher for a class book on everyone's families. She was so complimentary saying this was the best page she had ever seen and wanted to know if she could give me a stack of family photos to make an album for her. I blushed.


_{DJB Michael by Darcy Baldwin at The Digichick
Kate Hadfield: Doodle Frames, Stitched Arrows, Stitched Alpha
Kate Hadfield and Ashley Olson: First Day Jitters
Kate Hadfield and Tiff Brady: Wordy Bits: Vacation
Mo Jackson: Art Moodles, Moodles Alpha
Julie Mead: Some Bunny doodle}

::::::::::::A Couple of Met Layouts::::::::
Thank you to Sausan Designs for these Spunky Quickpages:



:::::::::::Another Big Thanks to Sausan Designs:::::

for this Random Act of Kindess:

Oogelie Googelie



This is so out of this world cool, creepy and fun! Halloween is such a fun thing for our crazy kids and it will be fun to scrap with this amazing kit.


:::::::::::::The Great Inca Rebellion::::::
This show was fascinating. The forensics were incredible.


Product Description from Amazon.com
History reports that the mighty Inca were swiftly wiped out by a small band of Conquistadors. But, new evidence is being unearthed that may help re-write history. Remains of those who died in battle have been discovered, and for the first time physical evidence is suggesting that Spain's conquest of the Incan Empire may have actually taken twenty years. Brought to life through CGI reconstruction and reenactments, the untold epic saga of decades of guerilla warfare and rebellion are finally revealed as National Geographic uncovers the truth behind the Inca's last stand.

:::::::::::::Prop of the Day::::::

goes to customer service at Amazon.com. The post office had said they delivered a package to me yesterday. Alas, no package. So, I put a note out to the postman and put in a email to Amazon. I had an immediate and professional response to reorder at no charge. This afternoon the package was open, but the contents were still shrink wrapped. I got on Amazon's site and they have a feature that calls their representative for you. I love this! I talked to a nice guy who took care of the cancellation right away. I am St oked...Stoked to get Rachel's "Electric Company" dvds! Woohoo!

:::::::::::::Cub Pack Meeting Tonight:::::

The leaders have planned a make-up bike rodeo. It should be fun and the weather looks like it will cooperate this time.

:::::::::::::Lunch Break Fun and Games:::::

Granny Sydney stopped by yesterday and brought some belated birthday gifts for the kids. One gift was the game Clue (the Simpson version). Aaron asked if we could play at lunch today. It ended up being Marge in the Nuclear Power Plant with a sling shot. I won. My character was Krusty (Colonel Mustard).

Smiles...and if you are playing Simpson's Clue watch out for the poisoned donut!

Two Fun Kids:

Noah's pet, Oinkey, is a nice furry companion that we don't have to clean up after:


_{Paisley Passion Kit by Sandra Boddington at Sweet Shoppe Designs,
Staple from Circus Train by Sandra Boddington,
Tea Overlay from Scrap Artist's Carefree kit,
Font: Ash 94}
Text: "When mom and dad are sleeping in their bed and I'm trying to go to sleep I have a fearless friend who keeps two watchful eyes open for me all night. He is soft and cuddly too! He doesn't make a fuss when I throw him over my arm and he lets me pick the movie and never complains about my choice. I made him a bed out of mom's tissue box, but he prefers to sleep by my side. When I go to school I give him to my mom so he will be safe from my big brother, Aaron and my little sister, Eve. Did I forget to tell you that my friend's name is Oinkey? He is very friendly! You can pet him, but you can't keep him.


Noah"




_{Paisley Passion Kit by Sandra Boddington at Sweet Shoppe Designs,
Paper Tears from Fhunglie's Ultimate Torn Pack,
Scrap fabric template from the Grace Sampler by Katie Pertiet,
Font: Marcishand/Patchanka Px}
Text: "What does a 4 year-old think about?
What makes you cross, joyful, or sad? What stops you in mid exploration to stare and marvel? So much to learn, so much to experience! Eve, one of the greatest joys in my life is watching you grow! Love, Mom"


::::::::::::::::Noah Loves Math:::::::::::::

Noah had us laughing again! As we were driving to Granny Sydney's house for her annual "Pagan Harvest Fest" Noah told us about a math program he was working on at school. He said, "There were 101 math questions on this new math program in the computer lab and I got 100 of them correct. I would have gotten them all correct, but I hit the wrong key and exited the program. I was going to type in 10 as the square root of 100, though." I started laughing because I'm certain I had no clue what a square root was in first grade. As usual, I had to tell him I wasn't laughing at him, but was simply amazed that he understood the concept.


:::::::::::::::::Costumes:::::::::::::

I helped Rachel create her rag doll costume with some funky horizontially striped tights, an old dress, a white apron, some pink blush, dark brown eye liner, and some pink lipstick. The only purchase was a braided yarn head piece from Jo Ann's. She looked adorable. She also wore her black boots from last year. I'll post pictures tomorrow, me thinks!

Michael will be sewing the boys' stuff tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to seeing Noah as Patrick Star!

Granny's Delight:

_{Allure Kit by Sandra Boddington at Sweet Shoppe Designs
Brush work also by Sandra Boddington.
Font: Pea Martha}

Fun Stuff for Halloween:

Here is a great site for Halloween stuff that is sponsored by Fujifilm:
Click Me

This is one of the vintage cards you can get at their site for a free download.



Here is the section for the free scrapbook pages:
Free Scrapbook page.
You can also download tutorials on using the information.

::::::::

M&M Mars has a way cool "Dark" Chocolate game on their site:Dark Chocolate Game. They have created a painting that appears like a medieval bunch of riddles. You click on the different pictures and guess the dark movie associated with the riddle. Aaron and I have only figured out 12 out of 50 movie titles. The site allows you to save your game and continue later.

They have an awesome idea page:Bright Ideas page

::::::::

My mother-in-law will have her Pagan Harvest Festival soon, so I hope for some fun photos.

Remembering when:

Eve was a tiny toddler and Lettitia was a teenager and most favored Auntie for all the Taylor kids. This was taken at my mother-in-law's home in Social Circle during a Family Home Evening. We try to get together around the first of the month. It is fun to look at the older photos that I'm finally getting around to scrapbooking and see how we all have changed.


_{Background paper from Studio Chic by Shabby Princess, papers and elements from Ellie's World by Nancy Rowe Janitz, Font: Farrah}

Another Cousin layout:

_{Doodle Kit freebie by Sundaye, staples, paint brush stroke, stitching by Michelle Coleman's Gypsy Rose Elements, and Emma's Sundress, Brown paper from Michelle Coleman's Good Karma freebie, Font: Jane Austen, Pea Happy Girl}

Text: Aaron has a genuine love for his cousin Dakotta Rose Hardin.. Whenever he sees any of his baby cousins he looks them in the eyes, then gives them a big hug. These photos were taken at Granny Sydney Taylor's house in Social Circle, Georgia during Easter. Uncle Michael Taylor holds Dakotta on his lap.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

Michael and I were discussing how Eve uses the wrong terminology for things, but describes what is happening perfectly. For example, today she was watching Barbie Fairytopia and there are scratches on the dvd at the images were stuttering on the screen. She yelled up to us and said "The t.v. is running out of gas!" That explained exactly what the images and sound appeared to be doing; such creative thinking!

{Pay it Forward}

After Michael and I finished helping his oldest sister and her husband move into their new abode her husband made the observation that Michael and I were the first to arrive and the last to leave. They thanked us for our help, we talked for a bit, then we went to my mom's house to pick up our kids. It brought to mind the concept of the film Pay it Forward. I was thinking that whenever you do a good deed for someone they are more apt to do something good for someone in return (and not necessarily to the person who was initially kind to you). Also, I like to think of myself as someone who is reliable, and Michael, as well. If I commit to something I'm there all the way. I have a hard time with people who don't value reliability as much as I do. I also appreciate my mom and stepdad for taking care of our 4 kids so we could be helpful and focused for the move. My parents are very reliable and care deeply for my kids.
Another nice pay it forward story is about my mother-in-law who paid for the meal of two service man at Longhorn Steakhouse the other day. The waitress happily obliged to ring the two service mens' order on her bill. She frequently does this (she eats out A LOT) and it is a good deed...she's happy, they're happy and both feel appreciated.
There is a commercial that shows the concept of pay it forward and for the life of me I can't remember who is advertising, but what stands out is the series of random acts of kindness. Too cool and very inspiring!

Smiles...have a lovely Sunday!

{My Aaron Spelling Tribute}

_{Font:Bitsumichi, Carbon Block and Arial}

When I got home I checked the news on the AJC and CNN and found out that Aaron Spelling had passed away following a stroke. I grew up on this guy's t.v. shows (good or bad)and I liked a lot of them. One of my favorites was Charlie's Angels. I was a Sabrina fan, then when she left I liked Kelly. For the brief time that Farrah Fawcett was on the show I was curious if she owned a bra?!? I don't personally like wearing them, but ha! I'm not on national television, though I'm sure the male audience is like SHUTCHA MOUTH! WHADDA YA TALKIN' ABOUT! It has to be said that I used an entire can of Final Net hairspray to get my hair to form the signature winged hairstyle sported by Farrah Fawcett. I also owned the famous bathing suit poster (many years since torn and thrown away) and that same poster photo on a t-shirt (I will scrap my 70's coolness very soon)!

The reason the layout is entitled "Roger's Angels" is due to the fact my father-in-law is deceased and this is a silly photo of Lettitia, Melissa and Sydney pretending to the Charlie's Angels. They had such a good time posing like this that we all had a great laugh (and maybe Rog, too?!)

So this layout is a simple fairwell to Aaron Spelling and his t.v. shows that helped me get through any homework I felt was boring, or any chores I was sloughing! Thanks Aaron! And a simple homage to my Father-in-Law who I really miss talking to!

This is a birthday card I created for My MIL. She and I love to watch The Vicar of Dibley, so I scanned my video box photo. My MIL loves being in the Red Hat Society, so I decided that the picture of her in the hat was a must.