Melissa's 365

57/365 March 12, 2009 "Tragedy at Sea"

2009-03-12T21:47:00.002-02:30

16 people are lost at sea tonight. A Cougar helicopter carrying 16 rig workers and 2 crew ditched in the ocean shortly after 9 am this morning. 12 hours later only one survivor has been found and one body recovered. It is the worst disaster off of our shores since the Ocean Ranger sank in the early 1980's. The entire Province is at a standstill waiting for news. We ALL know someone working on those rigs. We are all heartbroken.

I did not take this picture of our shores on the Atlantic, Matthew did. But I love it so I am using it today to remember those poor people and their families. I wish them godspeed.

56/365 March 11, 2009 "Love is...My Dad"

2009-03-11T20:22:00.001-02:30

Jacob brought this home from school. It made me want to cry...James took one look at it and said "That right there? That makes up for EVERYTHING...allllllll is good" :)

55/365 March 10, 2009 "The growing tree"

2009-03-10T19:37:00.001-02:30

Look how nice my weeping willow is looking!

54/365 March 9, 2009 "Fairy Tale Museum"

2009-03-09T16:55:00.001-02:30

This is a picture from Friday but that's ok. Jacob and his grade 2 class hosted a "Fairy Tale Museum". Each child had to bring in an "artifact" from a fairy tale. Jacob's assignment was to read the story of Aladdin's Magic Lamp and then bring in the magic lamp. :)

53/365 March 8, 2009 "New Page!"

2009-03-08T11:44:00.001-02:30

Yes I know...I am two weeks behind. It's been a ...troublesome few weeks, however things are looking up so back I am. Woo!!

And in celebration - I scrapped again yesterday! Woo!!

Like my little penguin? I made him...cool eh? I'm right proud of myself. LOL!!!

52/365 February 23, 2009 "My Sisters In Law"

2009-02-23T18:52:00.002-03:30

Yesterday was Amanda's baby shower...we had SO much fun and everyone was so generous! I snapped this picture of my beautiful SIL's Amanda and Sheryl with Sheryl's awesome camera and now I am in love with it and want to steal it. I can see a DSLR being on my "I want it" list very very soon. *shuffle* The only downside was that it was heavy...very very heavy. But cool..oh was it ever nice.

Enough about the camera...look at my gorgeous "sisters" here! I love them both so much...I am a very lucky girl :)

51/365 February 22, 2009 "The Calendar"

2009-02-22T23:30:00.002-03:30

We all have them. The infamous house calendar...everything goes on this thing!

50/265 February 21, 2009 "Cousin Love"

2009-02-21T14:48:00.003-03:30

I can't resist taking pictures of these two little characters together. See that honest smile on Jacob's face? You can't fake that love buddy. No way :)

49/365 February 20, 2009 "First Layout in Months"

2009-02-20T08:50:00.005-03:30

So my friend Wendy kicked me in the butt and got me scrapping again. Its the simplest layout I have done in years so it is a slow start but hey...at least I am back at it!

43-48/365 February 13-19, 2009 "Six Random Pictures"

2009-02-20T08:31:00.007-03:30

It has been a hideous week. Everyone is sick, cars are breaking down, we have had two snow storms in a row so we are all barred in the house. Ugh. Just ugh. so I have been too busy, too stressed or too pissed off to post here. But I have been taking pictures. Sometimes. So in order to play catch up, here are some random snaps from this ugly week:

Just a quick comment on this one...Mom took it one day while I was at work. So it is blurry and out of focus because she snapped it really fast. Hallie, Ben and Jacob. What I would like to point out is what Jacob is doing here - smelling Hallie's hair. I swear he is a different child around that little girl.

42/365 February 12, 2009 "Valentines for school"

2009-02-11T22:24:00.001-03:30

It is that time of year again. Valentines for school mates. Jacob is having a little school party tomorrow so we spent the evening addressing valentines for his friends.

41/365 February 11, 2009 "Healthy snacks"

2009-02-11T22:22:00.001-03:30

Jacob loves broccoli. He could eat it all day with no sauce, just raw. I think it is a bit bland but he just chews on it like it is candy. It is one of the most amazing things about him really...his love of healthy food!

40/365 February 10, 2009 "Success!!"

2009-02-11T22:19:00.002-03:30

Ten stickers for a prize. He did it!!!!

The prize was a "Cactus Jack" wrestler. It is not available in stores here so we ordered it online. He LOVED it! Hopefully this is good incentive now for his behaviour to improve...even a little bit would be a blessing.

39/365 February 9, 2009 "The sticker chart"

2009-02-09T22:30:00.002-03:30

So Jacob has a sticker chart. He has to get ten stickers in order to win a prize. the stickers are for behaviour issues but we are doing things one step at a time. These ten stickers he earned for not flipping out and hitting us when he gets mad. Or REALLY flipping out and being impossible to vet along with. He can vet as mad as he wants but he needs to learn how to control himself better...hence the stickers...the half ones are because he flipped out but got control - or he hit but immediately knew what he did and apologized.

Look at all of them!! I am so so ridiculously proud of him. He is trying SO hard.

35-38/365 February 4-7, 2009 "William's Birthday"

2009-02-07T22:12:00.006-03:30

Cheating a little with these ones but I have a few pictures and oh my goodness William is FOURTEEN years old!! What can I say...fourteen. I'm still a bit stunned about the whole thing...and look....I even got pictures of him!! Oh happy day!!

So he had a party with his Dad on Friday and then a party with us on Saturday. Pizza and ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. And of course, lots of presents...He was in heaven! LOL!!

34/365 February 3, 2009 "My favorite page"

2009-02-07T22:08:00.002-03:30

I've been on a scrapbooking sabbatical for a few months now. But the itch is getting to me and I am startingto pick up my magazines again and my mind is wandering to pages I want to do and paper and supplies I want to buy. I was looking through some of my older pages tonight and thought I would post one of my faves...me, Mom and Aunt Cor...the three stooges as it were...

33/365 February 2, 2009 "Where have all the wrestlers gone?"

2009-02-07T22:05:00.002-03:30

Notice anything missing? If you said "toy wrestlers" then you win first prize!

Jacob had such and ugly day that every single last one was taken and put up. It was a nasty day...but he didn't get them back until late into the evening after many apologies and long chats about appropriate behaviour. *sigh* one of these days we may get through to him...one of these days.

32/365 February 1, 2009 "Snowblowing"

2009-02-01T19:05:00.002-03:30

It is 7:05 p.m. and James is out playing with his snow blower. I say "playing" because he has already cleaned the driveway but Jacob went out to play and managed to push a tiny bit of snow back into the drive. James's eyes actually lit up when he saw it. On went the coat and boots and out he went. He's like a kid with a favorite toy!

I played with the settings of this picture. Not a lot but I made it look newspapery in Photoshop. One of these days I will actually sit and do a tutorial on my camera...

31/365 January 31, 2009 "Chaos"

2009-02-01T11:43:00.003-03:30

Today's picture is an artistic representation of the days events. No explanation necessary really, it was a horrible, bad, day. We tried to take Jacob out to the shops with us - bad idea. And then when we got home all hell broke loose. It was a horrible, bad, day and I am trying to remain bright and shiny but the effort is almost too much right now. So I am dull and weary today...dull.and.weary.

The little man in the middle is me in the middle of a maelstrom. Or it could be Jacob calling upon the fury of the elements...you choose.

30/365 January 30, 2009 "Bubbles"

2009-01-30T21:34:00.003-03:30

On Fridays James works double shift which means that Jacob and I are alone together all evening. So we have developed a little ritual of sorts where Mom and I take him up to Neil and Sheryl's on Friday evening just to pass away a few hours and see the baby and just have a nice visit. We DEPEND on those visits for our sanity LOL! Anyway, tonight I honestly planned on having a picture of our visit for this entry but as soon as I got to Neils I realized that I forgot my camera! Doh!

So a picture of Hallie and Jacob on Friday night will have to wait for next week. In the meantime, Neil took Jacob to Walmart for a little jaunt and he returned with a bubble blowing kit. I usually don't like bubbles in the house because they make everything sticky but it's the middle of winter so you know...what can you do? :)

29/365 January 29, 2009 "Snow day #2"

2009-01-29T16:26:00.004-03:30

Snow day again! The cold snap snapped and the snow came just like normal. 10 cms or so..maybe more. And it was nice thick snow too so super fun to play in when it was all over. Schools were closed and I didn't go to work and Jacob has been outdoors most of the afternoon building this little friend:A special bonus picture: Here goes the nose!

In other news it is Matthews birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! He is 39 - six months before me!! HAHA! I like to remind him that he is old and I am not...he doesn't appreciate that I don't think. LOL! So Jenn and William are having birthday supper with him tonight...that is if they can get the car out of the driveway. James will snowblow when he comes home so hopefully it will be ok. If not, Matthew can come grab them in his rig...he has a 4WD - no skin off his nose!

28/365 January 28, 2009 "Playing with Dad"

2009-01-29T16:22:00.003-03:30

You know, we have a lot of game systems in this house. We have the elusive Wii, we have an XBox 360, we have the Nintendo DS and the gamecube. We have an old Playstation and we have the most favoritest of all - the Playstation 2. James and Jacob could sit and play the PS2 for hours. I don't know why it is so special or different from the others...personally I like the Wii the best...but no, my two guys here are PS2 people. I think they are playing Smackdown versus Raw 2009 in this picture. They get so into it...I love watching them really.

27/365 January 27, 2009 "It's Just Cold"

2009-01-29T16:17:00.002-03:30

It is cold. It is very very cold. I know it is not as cold as some places but man, it is cold here. The winters in St. John's are generally quite straightforward. It snows - a lot. And then it rains - a lot. The temperatures are fairly moderate because well, something has to fuel all that rain and snow. So you know...-5 and up...that's fairly normal.

Today it was -13 with a windchill of -30. It is bitingly cold. I don't like it at all because you can't DO anything in cold like this. Just walking to the car takes your breathe away. It speaks to warm up later on the week...my fingers are crossed that the weather guys have it right this time...because this? This is ugly cold.

26/365 January 26, 2009 "104%"

2009-01-26T19:21:00.002-03:30

I'll let this one speak for itself seeing as I try hard not to brag TOO much about my kids...but still...highest mark in the class is nothing to sneeze at :)

25/265 January 25, 2009 "The Annoying Cat"

2009-01-26T19:13:00.002-03:30

I know I know...I love him to bits. But must he be EVERYWHERE I am at all times?? He's large...and furry...and heavy. Let it be known that Sam is My cat and only MY cat. Where I am - he is. It's quite cute. Annoying...but cute.

24/365 January 24, 2009 "Just Jacob"

2009-01-25T20:59:00.001-03:30

....sitting down, playing Nintendo DS, blowing bubbles and relaxing. It's a nice, calm change. :)

23/365 January 23, 2009 "Will's Computer"

2009-01-25T20:55:00.002-03:30

In case you have not heard, William has a new computer. It was a present from James, me and Matthew. Neil bought him the super awesome video card and William fell in love. I tried to get a picture of him sitting with it but this was all he would allow me. *sigh* I am still on the hunt for a good picture of him...I will persevere!

22/365 January 22, 2009 "My Favorite Scent"

2009-01-25T20:51:00.002-03:30

Over Christmas I discovered these glade candles. I had a vanilla flavoured one and I thought it smelled absolutely delicious so I bought a few more in a variety of different scents. By far and away THIS one "Angel Whispers" is my most favorite smell ever. I have one in the dining room and one in the living room and I have them lit as often as possible. I just LOVE them!

21/365 January 21, 2009 "Homework"

2009-01-21T20:35:00.002-03:30

No real story behind this picture, no real reason to take it. I just noticed Jennifer sitting in my scrapbooking room plugging away at her homework so I snapped the picture. Funnily and typically, just as I snapped the pic her cell phone began to ring. LOL!

20/365 January 20, 2009 "A Special Present"

2009-01-20T20:40:00.003-03:30

I am so excited! I was involved in a secret holiday gift exchange with a bunch of my good friends from a super awesome web community that I belong to. I got my presents today!! A big box filled with goodies straight from Louisiana! Wendy!!! I can't thank you enough...everything was so thoughtful and sweet!

I got:

A gorgeous handmade purse
2 bags of yummy smelling coffee
A pair of super fuzzy socks
Body lotion
2 bags of cajun flavoured chips
A can of "Slap your Mama" cajun seasoning (too funny!!)
2 Scrapbooking pens
1 pack of scrapbooking paper
I pack of letter stickers
A scrapbook album

YAY!!

19/365 January 19, 2009 "X-Ray"

2009-01-19T19:06:00.003-03:30

Speaking of respiratory illness...this is where I am now. The pneumonia is gone...pretty much. My energy is back...sorta. My cough is better...almost.

Basically I am 100% better than I was last week but still not 100%. So my doctor has asked me to get another X-Ray just to make sure all is healing the way it should. He mentioned a few things and told me not to go google anything because it would cause me to worry needlessly. So I am not googling and I am waiting to get the X-Ray for another few days in order to heal a bit more.

The order for my X-Ray...all official like:

18/365 January 18, 2009 "The Treadmill!!"

2009-01-19T19:03:00.001-03:30

It is here! It is put together! It is awesome! I love it!

However I cannot use it just yet. Daaaaaaammmmmmnnnnn.....

Stupid respiratory illness...stopping me from using my treadmill...

17/365 January 17, 2009 "Club Pogo"

2009-01-17T17:15:00.000-03:30

What is Club Pogo you ask? Well it is a website filled with lots and lots of fun and amusing games. I am officially addicted to pretty much all of them but James is obsessed with this one...called Lottso. It is half Bingo, half Keno and half scratch tickets:

16/365 January 16, 2009 "Cousins"

2009-01-17T17:09:00.004-03:30

Man I almost forgot to post this picture! Last week we had a going away party for one of my cousins who is moving to Halifax for his job. It's a great opportunity for him but we are all sad to see him go. Anyway, the whole family gathered at my Aunt and Uncles house to have a lovely supper and have a final drink with Brian. It was so much fun...I was still fighting being sick though so I found it really tiring.

So I managed to snap a picture of the young ones. On my Dad's side of the family there are only 4 children...well 6 if you count Jenn and Will but they are not really children anymore. So there is Jacob, Hallie, Alyiah and Ben. Hallie was there but Neil took her home a little early but I did manage to get a nice picture of the three others:

15/365 January 15, 2009 "In the Snow"

2009-01-17T17:06:00.003-03:30

So the storm has passed. It wasn't a huge one but enough to shut everything down. And YAY!! The snowblower was fixed just in time and worked perfectly! Of course I was so excited to see James chugging along with it that I completely forgot to take a picture. Doh!!! Next time for sure....

In the meantime Jacob decided to go outside and dig around in the snow a bit. And yeah..he has a mouthful of snow...silly boy!

14/365 January 14, 2009 "Snow Day!"

2009-01-14T20:52:00.001-03:30

Yes yes indeed the very first official snow day of the year. 15 cms of snow followed by 10mms of rain...it made for a slushy, wet, miserable old day but let me tell you...there were smiles on top of smiles in my house. Snow days are common around here but to my boys - each one is as exciting as the first.

Now of course we already had snow on the ground as you can see in yesterdays picture. But that all fell gradually, little bits here and there and certainly nothing big enough to cancel school for the day. That's what made today exciting. It was funny too because when I woke up this morning it was clear as anything and right before bed last night Will said "I hope it is a snow day tomorrow!" so I was disappointed that there was no snow. But lo and behold, the school board jumped in fast and cancelled school due to inclement weather. WOO! you gotta love a proactive school board. LOL!

13/365 January 13, 2009 "Little Pink Snowsuit"

2009-01-13T19:28:00.004-03:30

This is my niece Hallie. Mom was watching her today and she wanted to go outside and Hallie loves loves loves walking in the snow.

Now our Hallie is adorable, she is so sweet and I am sure this blog will eventually be filled with many pictures of her. However for this picture, Hallie is not the main focus - the little pink snowsuit she is wearing is.

You see that little pink snowsuit used to belong to a very small girl named Jennifer. Yes that's right MY now 20 year old Jennifer. I bought it for her when she was about 18 months old and when she grew out of it, mom tucked it away for the next little girl baby. But no one ever expected it to take 19 years for a little girl to grace us in the family. We had 3 boys and no little girl. So the snowsuit stayed in the closet. Until this year, when mom fished it out and lo and behold it was still like brand new and fit Hallie to a T.

So there it is...one snowsuit, 2 little girls and almost 20 years in between. It honestly brings a tear to my eye.

12/365 January 12, 2009 "Broken Bits"

2009-01-12T20:58:00.004-03:30

So it is Monday. The Monday after the week I have been sick, my first day back to work, Jacob's first day of school swim lessons and an all around busy day.

So what do we get? Why a snowstorm of course! Not a very big one - only 10 cms, but still snow is snow and snow on the roads means treacherous driving. But no fear of shoveling because James has a brand-spanking-new-never-used snow blower that I got him for Christmas! He has been coveting one for years and last year there was so much shoveling that he near broke his back so this year we were prepared and ready. Yes sirree...a snow blower makes all the difference.

But what's this?
Oh THAT?? Well that is the gear shift of the brand-spanking-new-never-used snow blower. The parts that FELL OFF during its inaugural blowing of the snow.

*insert picture of my head exploding here*

I called Sears ready to make heads roll let me tell you - I was livid. Luckily for them they were very contrite and are coming in tomorrow to fix the damn thing. They better do a good job too because we are calling for 35 cms on Wednesday. If my husband has no snow blower for that I think I may go on the warpath.

11/365 January 11, 2009 "The Softest Thing in the World"

2009-01-11T22:33:00.002-03:30

No explanation necessary...LOL!! Seriously, Lucy has the softest fur...it is like velvet and there's A LOT of it. And she's fat so the fat is all squishy and heavy. So the combination of fur and fat makes for the softest thing you could ever feel. It's adorable and so nice and she loves being petted - on her own time of course. You know how cats are :)

10/365 January 10, 2009 "Wrestlemania"

2009-01-10T21:47:00.002-03:30

It is ALWAYS Wrestlemania in my house. Jacob is obsessed with all things wrestling. It is his passion, his love, his sport, his playtime...he even says it is his future because he WILL be a pro wrestler when he grows up. LOL!

This little corner of the living room is his. OK...it's about half the living room. But these little toys keep him occupied for hours and hours. his imagination has no bounds with them. So for now, my living room is wrestlemania central...and I don't mind not one little bit. :)

9/365 January 9, 2009 "No Snow - yet"

2009-01-09T17:30:00.002-03:30

So the snow we had last week washed away with the rain this week. This is unheard of this late in the year. It is going on the middle of January and we have not even had a storm yet! It looks unnatural out there and it is bothering everyone because the kids can't go out and play on ice, there is nothing to sled on, no snowballs or snowmen....

Of course there is also no shoveling or driving in the snow - yet. So I guess it's all in the perspective.

So here is a picture for posterity. My front garden. You will notice the lack of anything resembling nice snow. There's ice on top of snow on top of ice but that's about it...I'll give it a week and there will be more but for now on January 9, 2009 - this is all we got:

8/365 January 8, 2009 "The Day the Tree Came Down"

2009-01-08T19:01:00.004-03:30

Poor wilted old falling apart tree...it was SO beautiful this year. I would say one of the nicest trees we had actually. But unfortunately the time has come to take it down and put Christmas away for another year. It all went so fast...unfair really.

What this picture does NOT show is the fact that because James is working, the kids are in school and I am sick as a dog, Mom and Dad are taking down the tree *shuffle* I am actually laying on the couch WATCHING *shuffle again*. I didn't ask them to do it but they came in and just started working away...Dad put the tree in his car and brought it to the tree drop off and my house and now devoid of all things Christmas.

In other news, I had my first ever X-Ray today. Well the first one in my memory, I assume I had one when I broke my arm when I was four but I don't remember. So mom went to the hospital with me and I was in and out in 20 minutes. funnily the X-Ray tech who called me in was a guy who looked at me and said "I have not seen you since art class in 1987." WTF?? I didn't even know who it was...but it was SO funny! He said "You have not changed a bit and you used to draw well. I remember you!" How cool is that??

7/365 January 7, 2009 "Winter Sickies"

2009-01-07T18:07:00.004-03:30

So tell me...who can go to bed feeling completely fine and dandy and wake up with pneumonia?? Who DOES that? Aren't you supposed to have a chest cold or something first? Isn't there supposed to be some warning? A gradual lead up of slight misery culminating in full blown case? One should not somehow catch pneumonia in their SLEEP.

Yeah well tell all that to my body. I'm still stunned by the suddenness of the whole thing. But here I am...yesterday feeling fine and today I can't breathe. It really makes no sense...so I am off to the hospital tomorrow for a chest X-Ray and I am doping myself with antibiotics and tylenol for the fever. Oh yeah, I didn't mention the fever. WTF??

Picture forthcoming...apparently I can't add anything because of an internal error. Ohhhhh kayyyy.

AHA! here we go...the picture of the day is my medicine. Woo!

6/365 January 6, 2009 "Marble"

2009-01-06T19:45:00.002-03:30

Marble is my cat. Well that's a lie..Marble USED to be my cat...now she is most definitely Jennifer's cat. She lives, eats, sleeps and breathes in Jennifer's room. When Jennifer is not around she is all out of sorts and goes wandering through the house looking for her. I knew Jenn was gone out because this evening I found Marble in my scrapbook room looking longingly out the window.

5/365 January 5, 2009 "First Day Back"

2009-01-05T16:11:00.002-03:30

So the holidays are over and it is first day back to school and work. I am super lucky in that my office closes down from December 23 until January 5 each year and it is a paid holiday...so it was a hard morning for me, Jacob and William. So this picture makes me sort of sad. I looked down at about 8:15 and Jacob was sitting here, coat and boots on just leaning against the wall.

I do have other children you know, it is just hard as hell to get a picture of them. I managed to snap one of Will this morning and he is moving so fast to get away from the camera that it ended up all blurry so I can't post it. I think I will make a resolution to try and get a good snap of him at some point this winter. It will be hard but I am up for the challenge!

In the meantime, here is my little leaning Jacob:

4/365 January 4, 2009 "Sledding"

2009-01-04T15:36:00.002-03:30

It snowed last night. FINALLY some sledding snow! Yay! Jacob took his new sled that Santa brought him and we went to the hill up the street. There were a ton of other kids there and he had a blast. I am hoping that the fresh air will knock him out tonight because tomorrow is the first day back to school and he is going to be a bear about it I just know it. Not to mention that William literally cringes when I mention it. Poor fellows...I wish I could make it better for them but school is a necessary evil. I personally don't understand their hatred for it because I loved school but these boys of mine? Man, they DESPISE it.

Thankfully, school was forgotten this afternoon on the sledding hill...it finally feels like winter has begun!

3/365 January 3, 2009 "Two of Three"

2009-01-03T19:06:00.002-03:30

Men in my life that is. Unless you want to count my dad, uncles, brothers and cousins of course. Then it would be two of 20-odd, but that does not have the same ring to it as "two of three". William is missing here of course...perish the thought of actually getting him to be in a picture. What is it with teenagers? Sometimes they can't get away from the camera and other times they hide like the camera holds the bubonic plague.

Anyway, no William...but here are two of the main men in my life - James and Jacob. Jacob was in a good mood today so that was good. It makes everyone's day a little brighter when he is happy.

2/365 January 2, 2009 "A Bad Day"

2009-01-02T17:17:00.003-03:30

It has been a bad day. Not a great way to start the new year let me tell you. Jacob has been a monster, I locked myself out of the house, I can't get anywhere because Jacob is too horrible to take anywhere, James is working double shift. It's just not a great day. So this is my picture today, and yes, my eyes are swollen from crying:

1/365 January 1, 2009 "The End and the Beginning"

2009-01-01T20:30:00.001-03:30

It is a new year. A new year means new possibilities, new hopes, new dreams, a new outlook. That is my goal this year...a new outlook. So I have many plans. One of them is to really get to do things for ME - including photos and scrapbooking. I let both fall by the wayside these past few months and that has to stop. I need to do things for me, things that make me happy.

SO...all said. It is a new beginning. But to start somewhere you need to know where you ended...so the first picture of the new year is the end of the old year. The presents are unwrapped, the living room is a mess, the tree is looking a bit wobbly. The New Year is ready to begin...

13/365 August 26, 2008

2008-08-26T18:04:00.001-02:30

Another picture I did not take but I want to add them as they become available because this is Jennifer and William's lives :)

William and his new step-mom Shirley taking Itchi for a walk. Shirley seems cool, I've only talked to her a handful of times but Will and Jenn seem taken with her and so that's good enough for me.

12/365 August 25, 2008

2008-08-25T22:55:00.001-02:30

I didn't take this but I love it. Jennifer and William with Matthew's family. Rebecca, grant, baby Lily, granny and grandpa. Such an awesome family. We are all very lucky :)

11/365 August 24, 2008

2008-08-25T22:51:00.001-02:30

Again, more than one picture...what can you do? LOL!! Jacob getting hit by the waves at Topsail Beach. The Atlantic Ocean might be chilly but not chilly enough to keep him out!

And of course, James is no less than 8 feet behind keeping a close watch. He is such a super Dad. :)

10/365 August 23, 2008

2008-08-25T22:47:00.000-02:30

More than one picture today...Corey and Amanda had a BBQ/lobster boil...we had an awesome awesome time.

9/365 August 22, 2008

2008-08-25T22:45:00.000-02:30

First time in a dress since she has been 6 years old. Seriously, skirts were fine, dresses? Not so much. But she looks AWESOME in this polka dot creation!

8/365 August 21, 2008

2008-08-25T22:43:00.001-02:30

The road to a layout...pictures that are 18 months old though...damn I am so far behind it isn't even funny!

7/365 August 20, 2008

2008-08-25T22:42:00.001-02:30

One weak wall + One unsecured door + one extremely angry 6 year old = one hole in the wall.

Oh my.

6/365 August 19, 2008

2008-08-25T22:40:00.000-02:30

It's Jennifer's birthday!! WOO - 20 years old.

But she has the flu - thus the sad face. Celebrations will wait until she is feeling a bit better :)

5/365 August 18, 2008

2008-08-18T17:53:00.000-02:30

I took this picture on Saturday night while at the field but I thought I would use it now because I am so pleased with it :)

4/365 August 17, 2008

2008-08-18T17:49:00.000-02:30

Ball game weekend again! Well half of a tournament anyway, the playoffs were called on account of rain so we are back down next weekend to finish! During a rain delay Stewart (team catcher and all around sweet guy) tried to get a picture of us all...so here he is saying "Melissa!! You put down that camera and get in this snap! All I have now is a picture of you taking a picture of me!"

3/365 August 16, 2008

2008-08-18T17:45:00.000-02:30

Mom and Dad have a computer. Neil gave it to them and man are they ever pleased with it. Mom has an email address and a facebook account now!

2/365 August 15, 2008

2008-08-15T17:26:00.000-02:30

James bought me home some flowers. He knew I was feeling a little overwhelmed and so he thought these would cheer me up -and he was right. As always :)

1/365 August 14, 2008

2008-08-14T22:02:00.000-02:30

What better way to start afresh than with two of the most important people in my life. I am so lucky and blessed to be surrounded by people that love me and people that I love. So to start - two people who occupy a lot of my time. My Mom and my Jacob.

Let's start this again shall we?

2008-08-14T21:59:00.000-02:30

OK...so I sucked at keeping up with the last one. And you know...I am making some changes in my life...not big changes but ones that should lead me in the right direction. The path to happiness, peace and joy. THAT'S where I am heading....so I figure that we need to usher in a new era of 365. A fresh start, a new start, a happy start. Same rules apply...

Let's begin.

208/365 August 1, 2008

2008-08-01T23:30:00.000-02:30

My brothers are in a softball tournament this weekend. We will be at the field all weekend now. I LOVE LOVE LOVE watching them play ball. Neil pitches and Corey plays shortstop and they BOTH get more home runs than normal people should. My brothers rock.

AFN is Neil's engineering company so we have our very own team to root for. I love it!

207/365 July 31, 2008

2008-07-31T21:26:00.000-02:30

A view from the Park - and a prime illustration of why the area that I live in is called "Waterford Valley". Because you know, it's in the valley and all. :)

206/365 July 30, 2008

2008-07-30T22:07:00.000-02:30

Just a little schematic to illustrate where we are LOL!!!

205/365 July 29, 2008

2008-07-30T22:06:00.000-02:30

Tammy and her baby Ben - my cousins but yet SO much more than that. :)

199 - 204/265 July 24-29, 2008

2008-07-30T22:01:00.000-02:30

A bunch from this week - we were at the lake/beach almost every night :)

198/356 July 23, 2008

2008-07-24T10:01:00.001-02:30

My favorite flower EVER. I am a daisy girl for sure :)

197/365 July 22, 2008

2008-07-24T09:58:00.000-02:30

Puddle jumping!!

196/365 July 21, 2008

2008-07-22T16:33:00.000-02:30

The allergies from HELL. No joke. His dear little eyes are swelled up like someone punched him in the face. He is on a daily allergy med as well as Benadryl and eye drops when the worst of it hits.

195/365 July 20, 2008

2008-07-21T23:02:00.000-02:30

Oh YEAH, my birthday!! I almost forgot. Neil and Sheryl had a little get together for my birthday...and James's too of course :)

194/365 July 19, 2008

2008-07-19T23:45:00.001-02:30

There was a guy from the Wildlife Department in the park today. He had a snake, a lizard and a parrot. Jacob was enthralled with the lizard. - AND he touched the snake. Very cool!

193/365 July 18, 2008

2008-07-19T23:42:00.000-02:30

Middle Cove. Waves. Hot day. Happy child. What else needs to be said?? LOL!!

192/365 July 17, 2008

2008-07-18T11:20:00.001-02:30

We have to beat the heat somehow. I rigged up the hose off the balcony so it sprayed down on Jacob. He stayed out there for hours just cooling off and having a grand time!

191/365 July 16, 2008

2008-07-18T11:18:00.001-02:30

this is the Willow Tree ornament that Amanda gave me as a bridesmaid gift. I love it - it was "Friends" - VERY appropriate :)

190/365 July 15, 2008

2008-07-18T11:17:00.000-02:30

Sigh...my bridesmaids bouquet...all dried and sad.

189/365 July 14, 2008

2008-07-18T11:14:00.000-02:30

Just me and James....

188/365 July 13, 2008

2008-07-18T11:12:00.000-02:30

OK!! Back at it...my birthday cake! Jacob had it for me as a suprise :)

June 16 - July 12, 2008

2008-07-10T12:17:00.000-02:30

So I'm cheating. Sue me.

I took 259 pictures at Corey and Amanda's wedding. There are three or four weeks worth of fabulous pictures in here somewhere...

http://photobucket.com/cawedding

LOL!!! Regular pictures start again tomorrow!

160/365 June 15, 2008

2008-06-17T14:08:00.000-02:30

It's Fathers Day!!! In celebration, a picture of my guy - one of the best Dad's in the world!

159/365 June 14, 2008

2008-06-17T14:05:00.000-02:30

I am scrapping again!! yay me!!

158/365 June 13, 2008

2008-06-15T11:45:00.000-02:30

One of my favorite snacks EVER....fresh cherries...YUM!

157/365 June 12, 2008

2008-06-15T11:35:00.000-02:30

New porch time!!! FINALLY!!!

Before/during - no door, no porch floor:

AFTER!! New door, new porch floor!

156/365 June 10, 2008

2008-06-15T11:31:00.000-02:30

My peonies are just starting to bloom...spring is in the air and summer is just around the corner!

155/365 June 9, 2008

2008-06-15T10:34:00.001-02:30

William, William, William...how seriously proud I am of you...

154/365 June 8, 2008

2008-06-15T10:32:00.000-02:30

It's Sunday. The day after the party of the year. Read my blog for more info. No picture because we were all hung over too much to care LOL!!

Back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow....

153/365 June 7, 2008

2008-06-15T09:52:00.000-02:30

It is Stagette Day!!!!!!! just a big WOO!!! A few pics from this one..

Mixing the drinks...Margaritaville!

the front of the shirt we made Amanda wear!

And the back!!

Jennifer and the Bride to be!

Oh look...it's me and Amanda :)

I have more pictures on Jenn's camera...the party pics. I must
remember to put them on my computer.....

152/365 June 6, 2008

2008-06-15T09:49:00.001-02:30

Speaking of boy toys...this is Jacob's newest acquisition - a scooter. He had a baby one last year (three wheels) and this year he refused to use it. Enter the new and improved, super fast, super cool scooter!

151/365 June 5, 2008

2008-06-15T09:46:00.000-02:30

Attack of the boy toys! Wrestlers Wrestlers everywhere...

150/365 June 4, 2008

2008-06-15T09:39:00.000-02:30

Find Marble....

the unfortunate thing about having a cat take up permanent residence in your scrapbooking room is the fact that they shed. Marble sheds A LOT and so it means extra dusting and cleaning of my stuff. I would kick her out but I think she would disown me LOL!!

149/365 June 3, 2008

2008-06-04T15:05:00.001-02:30

This layout has been sitting on my table for two WEEKS. I just can't seem to make it work...or find the time to even try. TONIGHT I swear I am going to finish it!

148/365 June 2, 2008

2008-06-04T15:03:00.001-02:30

I let Mom borrow my camera for the Daniel O'Donnell concert last night...unfortunately she couldn't quite get the hang of zoom. This is the only really clear picture that she got!

147/365 June 1, 2008

2008-06-04T15:00:00.000-02:30

Jacob getting an ice cream cone....he went home and Hallie was waiting and wanted a taste -

Uh oh!! Don't let Mommy and Daddy see what Nanny is doing here! LOL!

146/365 May 31, 2008

2008-06-04T14:58:00.000-02:30

The farm is open! The farm is open!!

It was a gorgeous day too...bright and sunny. The animals were out, the grass was green. Everything was just lovely.

145/365 May 30, 2008

2008-06-04T14:56:00.001-02:30

This is Jacob's new favorite food. He has been known to eat three whole sadwiches for a meal. It is lettuce, mayo and pickle. Uhhhhh...yum??

144/365 May 29, 2008

2008-06-04T14:53:00.000-02:30

So my computer wallpaper is Supernatural. So what?

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!

I just can't help myself...I'm obsessed!

143/365 May 28, 2008

2008-05-29T09:57:00.000-02:30

Crib. It's our new "thing" And it is good because Jacob and William like to play as well so it gives us a chance to be together. :)

141 and 142 /365 May 25, 2008

2008-05-29T09:54:00.000-02:30

One picture for two days because by the time it was all said and done we were two days getting this all fixed up. Jacob broke his arm...it's in a cast. Two days of crazy - 'nuff said.

140/365 May 24, 2008

2008-05-29T09:53:00.001-02:30

We wanted to celebrate the fact that Jacob had ten whole days of being SO GOOD. So we made a cake...and he ate most of it...LOL!!