Some Creativity

Here are some Layouts that I have done in the past couple of weeks. I think my favorite is of Cole and Cade from Football.


This one is on the first day of school.

The last one is from our vacation to the Outer Banks. He stopped at the Grave Digger shop on the way home.

On other topics, we are still missing Millie. It seems strange not to see her sleeping in her usual places.
Mark is in Vegas on one of his twice yearly trips there. Wish I had the opportunity to go somewhere, but I can't since I have the feeling that I just can't dump the kids on someone and go have fun. The plan is for all of us to go in May of next year. The twins have been wanting to go for a long time since they don't remember the last time they were there (they were in the womb!) and Carrick wants to go back...he was there two or three times when he was little.
I have had no urge to do any work this week other than what I have to. I guess it's because of the passing of Mil and the dark weather. Blah.
Cole and Cade have a birthday party tonight with a Halloween theme. Tomorrow is Trick-or-Treating up in my parents' house. If you can believe it, we get no one at our house. The houses are so spread out and there aren't any kids too close by so I don't have to buy candy!
But up in my parents' neighborhood where I grew up, there are lots of houses and lots of Trick-or-Treaters. Hopefully the rain will stay away.

Sad News

Yesterday was a very sad day. We had to make the decision to put our Millie to sleep. It wasn't an easy decision, but it was time. She was about 14 years old.

We got Millie as a rescue dog when she was about a year and a half old. We already had two border collies and I wanted another. She was a bit of a handful, but I am glad she became part of our family. She was never happier (though I doubt Buck and Cap were) than when she was hearding and nipping the other dogs when we played frisbee.

She was a patient dog and never really gave us trouble other than the nipping. She moved with us through 3 houses and 1 apartment, and 2 two states. She was at 13 pig roasts. She lost two of her best friends and gained a pesky new brother. She will be missed.

Carrick took it harder than I thought. Millie was never very affectionate, especially to the kids, but I think because she had been with him all of his life it was hard to say good-bye. He even went with his dad to the vet. He was there when she left. He is braver than I. I knew I couldn't do it. I don't think the twins really understand what it means.

So now we are a one dog family. It hasn't been that way in a long time. Max cannot figure out what is going on. I think he is still looking for her, waiting patiently by the door for her to come back home.

Go Away H1N1

Since the last time I posted, Carrick got sick with the flu and didn't get to play in his last game. He still hasn't gotten over it, and it's been two weeks! Now it seems he has moved on to a sinus infection. I can commiserate with him since I have one too. Now Cade is sick with a back hacky cough and is in bed...so I have two home today. So much for going to JoAnn to use my 50% off coupons! It will just have to wait.

I've started a new obession -- knitting. I always wanted to do it, but never had luck figuring it out until now. I have knitted scarves for the boys and now I am working on dishcloths with a little more of a pattern. Still working on that purl stich. There are some great videos on YouTube. Here are my favorite... How To Knit . Make sure you watch the video...makes it easy to understand.

We had our first hard frost of the season this week. Most of the flowers are done now, with a few exceptions. The day after the frost, we had a big warm-up to 65 degress. And we got over-run by ladybugs and stinkbugs looking for a place to spend the winter. Take a look...you even get a peek at what the house looks like. See all the specks? They're the ladybugs!


Since I am showing off pictures of the house, here is one of the front door and porch. See the cute doggies at the window?
The pumpkin hanging and the green vase I bought at T.J Maxx (my favorite) for around $12 ea.. The crate was from a local antique store for $10. I got the owl many years ago at Cracker Barrel. The stuff around the door is grapevine from a wreath taken apart. I also have lights in it.

This past weekend we worked on moldings for the house. What a difference! That and the fact I don't have to keep tripping on them in the foyer, where we were storing them for the past 3 months before installation. I will take photos as I get them painted. I really hate painting trim. So much prep work (filling nail holes, caulking the corners and voids, taping,....ugh) to finally get to the finished project. Now we have to trim out all of the windows. Not such an easy job since most of the windows need extra extention since the walls of the house were thicker than the average house and we didn't realize that when we ordered them. So it is custom for each window! Ah, it will be so nice to have windowsills! Ha.

Have a good weekend!

Bittersweet Week....

This week is bittersweet because it is the last week of regular season football for the boys. Last night was the last night of practice. So after 2 1/2 months of practice almost everyday, we are done unless they win their games on Saturday -- then they go to the playoffs. I'm very proud of them. They have done an awesome job in their first year. Some of the kids have played since they were 5, so my boys were not starters and didn't get a lot of playing time. They still stuck it out and I think that they learned a lot. They also made new friends they wouldn't have met otherwise (kids from the other school in our district).

We had Open House a few weeks ago and it was nice to meet their teachers. They are doing well in school and got all A's on their progress reports. Carrick is home sick today from school...not sure if it is a cold or allergies, but he was running a fever of 100, so I had him stay home and sleep.

We are going to see Bruce Hornsby on Sunday. The kids and I are excited. He is our favorite and his concerts are so enjoyable. Carrick will be sure to make a request list for Bruce...he'll play requests from the audience. Then he'll save them and put them on his website. I made a scrapbook layout of the last one he did.

On the crafty front, I have been teaching myself to knit. I really enjoy it and get a lot done while watching TV in the evening. So far I have done two scarves...now I have two more for Carrick and Cole. I have also been sewing Pjs for the boys. I completed one for Carrick and 1/2 for Cole. Need to finish up the bottoms on that one.

Nothing has been going on in the house department. Still have a pile of baseboard and trim sitting in the foyer (for the past 3 months) needing to be installed. We have a lot that needs to be finished outside before Winter. A little siding, fixing overhang, gutters, painting window trim, and outdoor furniture put away. Those are just the things that have to be done. There's plenty more in the queue that needs done too....