Grandma & PaPaw Are Coming To Visit ...

We are so excited ... Grandma & PaPaw are coming to visit.

They are flying in from Florida this afternoon ... we are keeping our fingers crossed that "Ernesto" does not delay or ground their flight. They are flying in from Orlando, so really it shouldn't be a problem. I've already check the airline website and it says their flight is "On Schedule".

We haven't seen them since April ... and it will be very nice to have them here. Griffin has changed soooooooooooo much since they have last seen him.

I love when family visits. Everyone lives so far away (either in Florida or North Carolina). I wish we had family living closer ... or better yet we could move back to Florida.

Since they will be arriving today, I will have very limited computer access. So, if you email me I will respond back on Tuesday, September 5th. If I do not have a chance to post to my blog, I hope all of you have a wonderfully, fun, safe Labor Day weekend!

Can You Say Silly?

This morning I stepped out on our back deck to take a picture of something in our backyard.

As I turned to come back inside, this was looking back at me ...




This act of pure silliness is JUST what I needed to start my day.

Oh ... and the glass isn't really as dirty as it appears ... it's wet from rain.

Sunday Morning View ... Just Beautiful!

Sunday morning is one of my favorite times of the week.

There's no real pressure ... it's a family day and it just seems to move slower than most days.

Mike just left for a flight lesson and Griffin is actually sleeping in this morning ... and it's 7:30 ... he's usually up by 6:00 - 6:30 ... what a treat!

When I walked Mike out this morning I was met with a beautiful Sunday morning.

The sun was peaking through the trees in all it's orange glory ... these pictures do not do it justice. I thought I would share them anyway. Also, thought I would share some pictures of a new flowering plant Mike bought yesterday. It's called a hybrid digitalis ... it's gorgeous!


The sun peaking between the trees


It was so bright and orange, the woods looked like they were on fire.


Hybrid digitalis


Isn't it gorgeous??

My Dream ...

I just woke up from the strangest dream and could not go back to sleep.

In the dream I was taking Griffin, Arianna, and Alena to Dairy Queen. DQ was not in a regular store front it was located in a school like environment. When we walked into the door the lion that is usually at the Dairy Queen became very aggressive and proceeded to not allow us to walk any further. I yelled out for someone to help us and the lady I usually see at Walmart came out to get the lion back in his cage. Then we walked up to the counter and ordered our ice cream ... and I woke up.

Okay ... so how STRANGE is this dream????

First of all Arianna and Alean are our twin step-nieces that live in Florida. They've actually never gone anywhere with us before. Second, what on earth is a lion doing at the Dairy Queen? And third ... the lady I was telling you about works at Walmart, not Dairy Queen.

So I decided to Google "interpret dreams" and I found a neat site called dreammoods.com. I felt the significant part of my dream was the lion. So that is what I searched under.

This is what they say about dreaming about a lion:

To see a lion in your dream, symbolizes great strength, aggression and power. You will overcome your emotions and/or difficulties. As king of the jungle, the lion also represents royalty, leadership, pride and dominion. You have much influence over others. You may also need to exercise restraint in your own personal and social life.

To dream that you are attacked by a lion, indicates that you have many obstacles to overcome. You must resist the force that is driving you to self-destruction

So ... I will ponder this information and determine if it has any true significance.

Here's wishing everyone a HAPPY WEEKEND!

F-F-F-Frogggggggggggggggggg

I have a confession to make ...

I am afraid of Frogs ... not just AFRAID of them ... but DEATHLY SCARED of them. I've had this phobia of frogs ever since I can remember. Growing up in Florida, they are every where. You know those bright green, grimey, slimey tree frogs?

Open your car door, you will find a frog.

Get in the shower, you will find a frog (sometimes).

Open the front door, frog ... right there on the door knob.

I am NOT kidding ...

So ... when we move to Virginia I think my frog problem will be solved.

It was .... until this morning.



Do you see this little guy that Mike is holding?????
He just about gave me a HEART ATTACK this morning.

I was in the bathroom this morning and went to raise the lid ... well ... right there ON the toilet seat ... in our UPSTAIRS bathroom is the hugest, ugliest, biggest eyed FROG I have ever seen.

Mike was taking a shower and I screamed ... he's yelling at me asking me what was wrong, he thought I hurt myself ... I'm like Oh my GAWD there is a FROG on our toilet. Quick ... get out of the shower and get it out of this house. He tells me he is going to finish his shower and he will get it then.

So ... I'm standing in the bedroom watching every little move this FROG is making because I want to make sure Mike can find it. Well ... Mike finally got out of the shower, dressed, retrieved the FROG, showed him to Griffin and proceeded downstairs to take him outside.

How on EARTH did a FROG get in our UPSTAIRS bathroom???????

I don't care ... as long as they stay outside from now on.

A Little Back To Normal ...

Things are beginning to feel a little back to normal now.

Mike came home from his business trip yesterday afternoon. He did not have to go to the office ... that was very nice ... he just worked here at home. I think this trip was a little harder on everyone than normal. We are used to having Mike travel, however having him leave so soon after loosing Wyatt was very hard.

Last night was Mike's first night at home without Wyatt. We talked alot about it and he said the house seems so vacant. And he's right ...

Then of course when it was time to head upstairs for bed, it felt strange ... again ... it was always Daddy that took Wyatt for a walk before heading upstairs for the evening. Instead we just walked up the stairs and went straight to bed ... strange feeling.

Griffin was acting different yesterday too.

I gave him an early morning bath because yesterday was "Mommy & Me Gym Time" and wanted to have him all ready before heading downstairs.

When we got downstairs he started laying on the floor ... he does this sometimes because he will take the quilt off of the couch and snuggle here and there. But I thought it strange he did this so early in the morning, and without the quilt. He just seemed out of sorts yesterday. He did play, run, jump and have a good time and Mommy & Me ... acting normal. He fell asleep in the car on the way home and I managed to get him into bed without waking him. He took a good 3 hour nap, but when he woke up he still acted tired. He would act "normal" (running/jumping/playing) and then do the laying around thing. Hopefully he will feel better today.

Day By Day ...

The past few days have been a bit difficult ...

Everytime I turn around I'm reminded of Wyatt. As I'm putting cheese on my nacho chips tonight I thought ... oh ... there's a little left, I can give it to Wyatt ... just a normal every day thought ...

Sigh ... anyway ...

I happened across this layout today on my computer ... as you can probably tell it was made many, many years ago when I was just beginning to scrap and using the "new trend" of fibers.



I wanted to thank everyone for the many kind emails you've sent, and the sweet comments left on my blog. We are missing our sweet boy ... and as each day comes forward it WILL get easier. Love to you all ... M.

Goodbye Sweet Wyatt ...

I have some sad news to share ...

Today we said goodbye to our dear, sweet Wyatt.

He showered us with unconditional love and loyalty ... we are so lucky to have had him in our lives for 11 and a half years.

There are so many things I want to say, but right now my heart is hurting and it's hard to put my feelings into words. We know he out of pain and is now in heaven ... and that brings us comfort.

I wanted to share some pictures of our "Dooder Bug" with you ... I wish I could share some older pictures, however they are in the attic and I'm unable to get to them right now.

We LOVE You Boy ...


This is a picture of Wyatt taken while we still lived in Florida. We had some dirt delivered and he used to run, jump and lay on it. We called him "King Of The Mountain" ... he was probably about 2 years old here.


Okay ... so how many dogs do you know that loves ORANGES?? Wyatt did ... this is his "Daddy Joe" (Grandpa) feeding him an orange out by the pond when we were still in Florida.


This picture was taken our October 2003 ... our first fall in Virginia. Wyatt would actually sit and pose for me. Such a good, sweet, BEAUTIFUL puppy.


This is probably my favorite picture of Wyatt ... I took this photo November 2003 ... look closely between his eyes ... do you see the spots that form an exclamation point???? Well ... let's just say that described Wyatt to a "T"!!!!


Wyatt loved his stuffed cow ... when Daddy came home from work he would always bring him a "present" ... it could be a stick, a stuffed animal ... anything as long as he could take something to Daddy.


A family picture of Mike, Griffin, Wyatt and me ... July 2006


Sunday, August 13th, 2006 ... Wyatt was actually feeling well enough to take our family walk ... this memory will remain with me forever.

An Inflatable Rainbow

Actually ... there is no real story behind these photos ... except after our yard sale last Saturday, Mike gave Griffin all the balloons that were hanging from our signs.

They are just bright and colorful and I wanted to share them. Griffin would never look at me while taking the pictures ... I took about 50 of him NOT looking at the camera and these are two of the best of the bunch.

You can click on the pictures below for a larger and more clear view if interested.


He had fun bouncy the balloons ...


At this point he was more interested in the rocks in our drive-way than the balloons

Taking The Train ... Short Pump

Short Pump Town Center is this beautiful open air mall not far from our house.

We go there quite often so Griffin can play in the children's play area and have lunch with friends. The other day we took the train ride for the first time ... it was so HOT out!

Griffin really enjoyed it ...


They have this cute little children's village outside ... this is the General Store


Griffin playing in the General Store


Look at his little face ... it's so RED ... because it was so HOT outside!


Here comes the train ... coming 'round the bin


The cute little train engine


We road in the middle green car

It was sooooooo much fun ...
We'll have to take another train ride next time we are there.

My Get-Up-And-Go ... Got-Up-And-Went ...

I am sooooooooooooo tired.

It's 1:00 in the afternoon and I am so sleepy. This happened yesterday too. I just do not understand. I can not sleep past 5:00 in the morning, and I'm asleep on the couch by 9:00 pm.

Griffin went down for a nap at noon and then I ate a little lunch. I'm sitting here trying to psych myself up to work (orders that HAVE to be finished, cut or packed) ... and right now ... all I can think about is SLEEP!

Should I take a nap? Maybe I can lay down for a half hour or so ... I can get up before Griffin wakes from his nap ... then maybe I can get a little work done as well.

Yes ... I think Mommy is going upstairs to take a little nap. Night, Night Ya'll.

Made Me Go ..... mmmmmmmmmmmm

Yesterday Griffin and I were in Walmart grocery shopping.

He is the biggest FLIRT ... he laughs, giggles and smiles at everyone. That's normal for him. He really draws ALOT of attention and I'm used to it. Normally it's ladies of all ages or older folks.

Well yesterday as we were going to the checkout line, this very nice looking, well dressed young man started talking to Griffin. At first I thought oh he's just being nice. But then he started asking me questions like "What's his name" ... "How old is he" ... oh my GAWD ... I was sooooooooooo uncomfortable. I've never felt that way before ... the hair on the back of my neck was standing on end and I was in full Mommy mode ... you know the "you-would-do-anything-to-protect-your-child" mode.

Why ??????

What's so different about a 20-something young man asking me the same questions that an 80-year old lady asked me just two aisles over??

Anyway ... I did notice other people watching our interaction ... I guess the look on my face gave me away ... how I was feeling.

Really ... I do not know how I feel about this situation. On one hand I feel HORRIBLE because I do not know this young man and he was more than likely just being nice ... on the other hand ... you just never know.

I feel it's important to listen to your inner voice and that "sixth sense" ... even though it may be nothing ... many times that "feeling" could protect you from harm.

He's Growing Up TOO Fast!

Griffin is 18 months old ... it's hard to believe our BABY is a YEAR & A HALF OLD!

My goodness ... he's growing up so fast ... he's so smart & inquisitive ... and at times tests us like you wouldn't believe ... I wouldn't change a thing about him!

Doesn't he look so "grown up" in these pictures?
I took them Sunday while on a family walk ...


Strolling with Daddy ...


The Glave Boys ... Mike, Griffin & Wyatt


When G gets tired ... it's Daddy to the rescue ...


Pure Sweetness!

Dancing With The Stars ... Update!

This is a list of the celebrities that will be on Season 3 of Dancing With The Stars ... they just announced this on GMA.

Jerry Springer ... yes ... Jerry Springer
Vivica A. Fox ... she'll probably be a favorite of mine
Tucker Carlson ... don't know anything about him
Joey Lawrence ... cute!
Emmett Smith ... football player
Harry Hamlin ... Lisa Rinna's husband ... good actor
Shana Moekler ... former Miss USA I think
Mario Lopez ... can anyone say SLATER?
Willa Ford ... I think they said she's a singer
Monique Coleman ... don't know anything about her
Sara Evans ... country music singer ...

Just looking at this list, not having seen their dancing talents ... my two favorites are Sara Evans and Vivica A. Fox.

Can't wait until September!!

Dancing With The Stars!

Woo Hoo ... today on Good Morning America they will be announcing the new celebrities that will be on the next Dancing With The Stars.

I am sooooooooooooooooooooo excited ... beyond excited even!

I am a HUGE fan of this show and I can hardly wait for it's September premiere!

I've heard rumors that Harry Hamilin and Vivica A. Fox will be dancing ... let's see if the rumors are true.

I'm just plain GIDDY today.

Yard Sale Was A Success & I'm TIRED!

Wow ... our yard sale was a HUGE success!! We had SOOOOOOOO much traffic and we sold lots and lots of stuff that was just taking up room in our house.

Beth Anne (a mommy I know from Griffin's play group) and Debbie (a neighbor) were here and we each manned our own sales. It was really great getting to talk to and know Beth Anne and Debbie a little better.

We were so BUSY!! Oh my goodness ... I am so tired.

I was up at 4:30 am and on my feet until 2:30 pm ... I never sat down. About 2:30 I realized my feet were HURTING. Last night, I could hardly walk on them. I didn't wear the best shoes yesterday and I was on our gravel drive way most of the time.

Anyway ... yesterday I was in my element. I sooooo miss interacting with people & talking with them. Being a stay-at-home Mommy can be a little lonely sometimes, but yesterday was GREAT! We met alot of neighbors from other roads in our community and lots of other people that just saw our signs.

We are thinking about making this an annual event ... we'll see about that.

My neighbor/friend Cyndi and I organized this together ... we worked really hard to have a successful sale ... and I do believe we pulled it off.

I must give Mike kudos as well ... he was "Daddy Daycare" for Griffin yesterday ... and he did a GREAT job! Thank you very much sweetheart.

Today ... I am cleaning house and getting my house reorganized.

Tomorrow ... I'll be back to work on orders.

Hope everyone has a HAPPY Sunday!

Our Community Yard Sale

Tomorrow we will be having a Community Yard Sale. At night I've been busy going through closets, rooms and the attic for our sale.

I really, really hope we have a good turn out. We've put an ad in the paper, put flyers all over town, posted to Craig's List, and I've listed it on about 8 local Yahoo Yard/Garage Sale Groups.

We also have signs to put up ... I made these yesterday. We wanted something "different" and eye catching. So I decide Hot Pink and Yellow was the way to go.

This is the first one I made:


But then I decide to add some daisies to it ... and I think they are eye catching and FUN! If I saw this yard sale sign ... I would definately want to go. The picture isn't so great on this one because the flash left a bright spot on it. I covered it with tape because it's been raining and thought it would protect it from the elements.



Do you live in the Richmond or Charlottesville, VA area?

If so ... we would loooove for you to come by our Community Yard Sale.

French Fries Don't Always Come From A Bag

Ha ... sometimes I forget that french fries are actually POTATOS! You know ... I go to the grocery store and choose my favorite Ore-Ida french fries in that familiar red bag.

Well ... last night ... I made french fries from actual POTATOS! I washed them, cut them up, doused them with olive oil, salt & pepper and put them in the oven and baked them. They were delicious!!

I don't think I've ever made french fries from potatos before ... isn't that crazy??

They were GOOD ... so good in fact I do not think I will ever buy the frozen kind again.

If you want "my" recipe here it is:

Cut 4-6 potatoes in 1/4" strips - you can peel them if you want - I didn't
Wash & Dry them
Put them in a large bowl and douse with olive oil
Place them on a cookie sheet
Salt & Pepper - Garlic would be good too
Bake at 425 degrees for 30-45 minutes
Half way through I turned mine over

These went really well with the hamburgers Mike grilled (thank you honey!)

Heidi Swapp Had A Baby Girl ...

Congratulations to the Swapp family!

Isn't it funny? I don't even KNOW her ... but I feel like I do. I visit Heidi's Blog everyday to see what she has to say.

This is the link to her blog:
http://heidiswapp.typepad.com/

I visit several other blogs each day too ... again ... I do not KNOW them, but I almost feel like they are friends. It's amazing the relationships you can create with people by sharing your innermost thoughts/dreams and reading theirs as well. For those of you that visit my blog ... thank you ... and I would love for you to share who YOU are in the comments on my posts.

Take care everyone!

It's Tuesday ...

By 7:15 this morning we have already accomplished these things:

- Griffin has had a bath
- Griffin has eaten breakfast ... already he was hungry!
- Took Wyatt for a walk
- Packed Mike's lunch
- Mike is on the road to Baltimore, MD for a job
- I've put clothes away & made the bed
- I've yet to have one cup of coffee

If the above list is an indication of the day ahead of us ... I'm all for it ... well, except for the fact I've not had coffee yet. Gosh, it would be nice to get alot done today. First and foremost ... I need to catch up on my emails and get orders packed.

So ... after I post this, I'm heading to the kitchen for a cup of coffee and then it's back to work for me.

A Man & His Son

Yesterday after snapping these pictures I realized just how much alike Mike and Griffin are ... just look at the expressions on their faces ... almost exactly the same ... priceless!


Love Taps ...


Here Daddy ... let me straighten that for you ...


Say Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese ...

Gosh I love my boys!

Happy 39th Birthday Mike ...

Happy 39th Birthday Michael!

(I will add a picture of the birthday boy with his cake later)

Gosh it's hard to believe we are 39 years old. Well, I'm not ... I'm still 38 ... but I will be in a month, a week, and a day. We've grown up together (and dare I say old?). Really ... I do not feel almost 40 years old.

Anyway ...

We had to make an unexpected trip to North Carolina yesterday. Harley was getting very homesick, so it was best to end the summer visit and take her home. We left about 1:00 yesterday afternoon and drove about 5.5 hours to meet Joy & Stephanie. They had driven 3 hours, so that was nice ... to meet somewhere in the middle. We did not get home until midnight last night. I actually fell asleep in the car, and I feel very bad about that because alot of the driving was on 2 lane back roads. We only came upon one deer and I woke up with Mike putting on the brakes pretty hard and when I woke up I noticed he had put his arm in front of me ... how sweet! The silly deer was just standing there in the road, like she was waiting for others to follow. Mike thought maybe a herd was going to cross. Well, she was alone and thank goodness we didn't hit her.

We are going to miss Harley very much. It was nice having her here and she was a big help. She was very good with Griffin and I know he's going to be looking for her today. It will be nice for Harley to have some extra time at home before school starts too. She was going to have less than a week at home before school started, but now she'll have about 3 weeks.

I have to tell you this ... as we were driving last night we came upon this decked out Hummer. Mike said, "Missy look at that big video screen they have in that car". I looked ... wish I hadn't! Mike was driving of course and all he could see was the big screen ... I got an eye full. These people were driving down the road watching an adult film. Oh my GAWD!!! What if a kid had seen that? Granted it was well past 10 pm, but STILL! I was shocked.

Well ... since it's Mike's birthday it's "his" day. We are getting ready for our Community Yard Sale (August 12th) ... so he's going to help me go through the attic this morning before it gets too hot. Other than that, we are grilling a steak, spending time together, and staying home. Hope everyone has a GREAT Sunday.

A Boy & A Box

Mike received his birthday gift in the mail from his mother today. After emptying the box he gave it to Griffin ... and he loved playing in it.

Isn't a child's emagination wonderful?



All a boy really needs is a box, his emagination and he can "be" anything he wants.

And another ...

Okay ... yes ... this is my THIRD post today ... but I'm just so darn excited that I've made some new things ... I just had to share.



This one is in MY EBAY STORE too.

Here's the direct URL if the above link does not work for you:
http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=missymadeit

Finally ... The Creative Bug Has Bitten

Oh my gosh ... FINALLY ... the Creative Bug has paid me a visit.

It has been soooooooooooooooooooooo long since I've had the urge to create something new.

Well ... my friends ... here is my newest item ... honestly, the scan does not pick up on the detail and colors very well. I just loooove it!



If you are interested ... it's available in my Ebay Store ... you can find the link to my Ebay Store to the right.

Decisions ...

Why are decisions so difficult to make?

Why do we procrastinate?

Is it the fear of the unknown?
Is it the fear that others will not understand?

I've come to learn that being upfront and honest is the only way to live life.

If you have a difficult decision to make ... take the step and make it.

I *LOVE* MY HUSBAND!

My husband is THE most wonderful man.

He's kind, loving, strong, handsome, smart, clever, funny ...
I'm the luckiest girl in the world.



This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Mike.
This is the day he became a daddy.

I thank God everyday for giving me such a wonderful husband.

It's Hot ...

It's been soooooooooo hot lately ...
It's that icky "take your breath away" kind of hot.



Here's proof ... it was 101.9 degrees yesterday at 5:00 pm.

It's been so hot out that it's been impossible to let Griffin outside to play.

AOL Weather is forcasting these temperatures through Thursday ... then we are supposed to have some rain ... Hallalujah!!!!