Foot Update.

Well, it's official ... this black & blue & swollen thing I call my right foot is broken.

I go to the foot specialist on November 1st ... apparently I have to wait so long because the swelling has to go down before I visit the specialist in case I have to get a cast.

Doctor Visit.

So ... I finally broke down yesterday and went to the doctor.

Honestly, I didn't go before because I was afraid of what he would say. He looked me over and feels there is a 95% chance that I've just sprained my foot. But, to be certain he recommended that I have X-Rays. So, I went to the Outpatient Facility at the hospital for X-Rays yesterday afternoon. They would tell me nothing ... they tell me that my doctor will call me in the morning.

So of course I am worried all night long that this may be serious.
I hope I do not have to have a cast or anything.

I am ANXIOUSLY awaiting a phone call from my doctor this morning.

Ugggh ... please, please, please, please ... PLEASE ... just let it be a sprain.

13 Stairs.

Our house has 13 stairs ... not 10 stairs ... 13 stairs.
A fact I seemed to have forgotten on Monday.

I am currently recuperating from a fall down our stairs on Monday.
It's amazing how life can change in an instant.
Really.

One minute I was on the phone ... the next minute I was walking down the stairs while holding Griffin and down I went.

Let me explain a little ...

Everytime I go up and down our stairs I count ... that way I know where I am on the stairs. I know it's weird, but it's something I've always done. I went up to get Griffin from his nap and then we headed downstairs. We were counting out loud together ... and I remember getting to 10 and then stepping off like it was the last stair. What was I thinking? Down I went with Griffin in my arms. I remember my legs going under me backwards, and feeling as though my right foot folded in half under me. I was in hysterics ... Griffin was crying ... and we were alone at home. Thankfully I had the phone in my hand as I had just gotten off the phone with my friend Heidi and I knew Mike was on the way home from work. I called him and said please get home as soon as possible because I think I broke my foot. I managed to crawl to the couch, but couldn't get the gate up to the stairs to keep Griffin from going up and down by himself.

Let me just say this too ... Griffin was not hurt. Thank goodness. Thankfully he landed on me and I think my crying just really scared him.

I think Mike managed to get home in like 3 minutes, when it really should have taken 15 minutes. First thing I asked him to do was to get upstairs to get Griffin, because without the gate he was up and down the stairs and I couldn't move. I just do not like him to be upstairs by himself yet ... especially with the bathroom doors open, because I didn't know what he could get into. He did that and then checked on me.

I managed to hurt the four smaller toes on my right foot and my left knee. Oh my gosh ... I was really in alot of pain. So, there I sat on the couch.

I had invited Heidi and her boys over for dinner ... she came and helped Mike cook homemade pizzas. (Thank you Heidi!) They made me sit still.

Monday night was horrible. I made it up the stairs but could not get comfortable in the bed. I pretty much didn't sleep all night long.

Tuesday Mike made me sit still with my legs propped up all day. Thank goodness he could be home with us yesterday. I have bruises everywhere, places I can't imagine how I goto them. I slept well last night.

And this morning ... I'm walking better. My toes still feel funny ... but my left knee is feeling much better.

So ... yes, life CAN and DOES change in an instant.

And now ... something more FUN ...
The winner of my 400th post drawing is ..................
June Bruce!!

June ... please email me your mailing address and I will get your surprise package out to you. I have taken a picture of it and once June receives it, I will post a picture of it. I just want her to be surprised.

Dale Jr Layout.

I *love* this layout ... when I was pregnant with Griffin, as an inside joke we called him "Dale Jr".

I may be sharing a little bit "too" much information ... but Griffin was conceived on May 15, 2004. That night we went to the Nascar race in Richmond and Dale Jr. won. So ... he was Dale Jr. until we met him on February 7, 2005 and then he became known as our sweet little Griffin Michael.

I love these pictures sooo much! My friend Cyndi gave us the Dale Jr. Boyd's Bear as a baby shower gift and I happened to find a matching Dale Jr. outfit for Griffin to wear. He was only 2 months old in these pictures.

My scanner did something funky when it scanned ... it put this bright looking streak down the left side of the layout ... when I have time, I will try to get a better picture of it and repost it.

We hope everyone has a wonderful weekend ... don't forget to post a comment under ROLL CALL to be entered into a drawing for a surprise gift!!

400th Post ... Roll Call!

Okay ... so it's been a week since my last post and I've known for a week that my next post was #400 ... I was going to pretend it was later and just post that it was my #400 post on like post #403 ... when I actually had time to think of something fun and clever to do to celebrate my #400 ... but ya'll ... this really IS my #400 and I want to stay true to the number.

So ... what I would like to do is say ROLL CALL to all of my readers ... and everyone that posts under the ROLL CALL post will be entered into a drawing for a fun little gift package (not sure yet what it will be ... but it will be fun). When posting on the ROLL CALL, please let me know who you are, where you are from and what you like me to share best (Mommy Stuff, Griffin Stuff, Scrapbooking Stuff ... etc). I really like knowing who visits my blog and why you come ... REALLY I do!

I really wanted to post a picture with this post ... but honestly, I just do not have the time.

Life is so busy right now ... I have soooo many fun adventures to share with you ... so many cute pictures and even a couple of new layouts. We'll see when I can get all of that shared.

So here goes ... ROLL CALL everyone ... you have through Sunday night, October 21st to respond here to be entered for the drawing. I will draw the "winning name" on Monday, October 22nd.

I can't wait to see who visits!!

Road Trip & More.

So many of you guessed our family adventure was apple picking ... oh my ... that would have been SO much fun! Maybe we can do that soon. The picture of Griffin with his red wagon was actually taken in our backyard.

Our adventure was actually a road trip with Mike. He was called away on an emergency call on Sunday, and he asked me if Griffin and I wanted to go with him. Sure we did!! So, Sunday morning we loaded up the car, headed north west through Virgina, then drove all the way through West Virginia ... finally reaching our final destination of Kentucky. Mike's job was actually a few miles away in Ohio, however the closest hotel was in Kentucky. So he got us all set up at the hotel and off he went. Griffin and I didn't have a car, so we were lucky to have a Walmart in the very same parking lot as our hotel. Off to Walmart Griffin and I went for magazines, snacks and a balloon. It was great fun playing "hooky" for a little while. Our drive there, I was hoping the fall leaves would be changing. They had just barely started changing ... so I have no beautiful fall foliage pictures to share now. It was really nice to get away for the night.

We have had sooooo many wonderful adventures the past few weeks that I've not been able to share yet. With the dial-up internet connection we have, it just takes forever to load even one picture!

So ... let me share a bit of what we've been doing ... I will share more about them with pictures and such as soon as I can.

Field Days of the Past ~ A great local event
Goochland Farmer's Market
Richmond Children's Museum
Ryan's 3rd Birthday Party
Playdates Galore!

Today I've been getting ready for the Pumpkin Party we are having at our house tomorrow. We have invited 9 of Griffin's friends and their Mommies over to our house for a pumpkin themed party. Today I spent cleaning the house ... but it seems no matter how much I clean, things never LOOK clean. I did manage to get the mess of what I call my "Scrapbook Room" (actually the dining room) cleaned up. I finally got the curtains ironed and put back up in the living room ... I washed them in July, pulled them out of the dryer and they needed ironing ... never took the time to get to them until today. And ... I mowed the grass. Mike was working at home, but has a 6:00 meeting tonight ... so while he was working and looking after Griffin, I mowed the yard. I actually LOVE to mow the grass. Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved to do this. It's something I always did with my Dad.

I think I have enough of everything for tomorrow. I think we are going to eat "picnic style" on quilts in the back yard. I just hope it doesn't rain tonight. I really do not have enough tables/chairs for everyone to sit in ... so I thought picnice style would be fun.

And then ... last night ... my heart went a flutter ...

I sing this song to Griffin that my Daddy used to sing to me ... "I Love You a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck" ... well, after I sang it to him last night, he walked away singing it. This just grabbed my heart and stayed with me all night. Gosh, I love our boy!

Adventure.

Today we are going on an adventure.
Somewhere we've never been before.

Care to guess where we are going?

Happiness.

Doesn't Griffin look HAPPY in this picture?

I had this exact same giddy feeling earlier today ... a new scrapbook store opened only 12 miles from my house!! Normally I have to drive 25 minutes to the nearest scrapbook store ... but not anymore!!

I've been waiting for Scrap N Time to open ... everytime I would pass I would look to see if they were open. Well, today it was open!!

Let me just share a little bit of information ...
You see ... this store opened in the exact spot I thought would be perfect for a scrapbook store. I live way out in the country and there's really not alot of retail spots available. But this store is located in the cutest little location. They have wooden floors, brick on some of the walls and the most beautiful stained glass window.

Griffin and I went in for a little bit of shopping ... and we met the owner, Tammy ... she was very nice. I purchased a bunch of different patterned papers that I do not have. I'm really looking forward to shopping there frequently!

So ... if you are in the Richmond/Goochland area here's the information

Scrap N Time
1039 W. Broad Street (250)
Manakin-Sabot, VA 23103
708-0613

To Be A Pumpkin.

I received the following in an email from a friend ... I really liked it ... so I thought I would share.

From one pumpkin to another ...

A woman was asked by a coworker, "What is it like to be a Christian?"

The coworker replied, "It is like being a pumpkin."

Like a pumpkin, God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you.

Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff.

He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed.

Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

This was passed on to me by another pumpkin.
Now it's your turn to pass it to other pumpkins.

Easy Weekend & Easy Monday.

We had a very nice easy weekend ...



We started our weekend off with homemade pizza on Friday night. My husband makes the BEST sauce ever ... then we add onions, peppers, mushrooms, pepperoni, italian sausage, sliced tomatos and tons of cheese. It's sort of becoming a Friday night tradition with us ... homemade pizza and I love it!

The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful. Saturday night we went back to Red Lobster for more "Endless Shrimp", then on to Target and Home Depot. It was nice spending some quality family time together.

Sunday is cleaning day for me ... washing clothes, organizing the house ... it was nice to get all of my chores completed early. And I made a beef roast with tons of veggies for dinner!

And today ... we've had an easy Monday ...

Mike is working at home and we love having him here with us.

Earlier our neighbors Cyndi, Harry and Jack stopped by to play with Griffin on "Fort Griffin" for a little while ... it was nice spending some time with them.

Griffin is now napping ... after this post I'm heading over to my work area to begin an order.

That's it ... how was your weekend???

Cherry Popsicles.

Seriously ... is there anything better than sharing a sweet cherry popsicle with a friend?



Sam and his Mommy Carol came over for a playdate on Wednesday. While Sam and Griffin played with trucks, airplanes and helicopters ... Carol and I played with my Cricut machine ... we all had a blast. And ... Carol made some DELICIOUS apple/curry chicken salad for lunch ... yum!!

Daisies ...

Griffin adores flowers ... this past spring we had a patch of wild daisies sprout in our yard and he was in absolute heaven!

This layout is all about my flower loving little boy. It's much brighter and cuter in person ... and so much fun to make!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Griffin.

Yesterday I was very worried about Griffin. My little 6:00 am riser slept in until 7:45 ... that was quite unusual.

Then we went to the gym for playtime ... then to Walmart to print out some pictures ... and then we were home by 1:00. He ate a little lunch ... he's not been eating as much as usual the past few days.

After playing around for awhile, he went upstairs for naptime. He didn't fall asleep until about 3:30 ... and then he didn't wake up at all. Mike was late arriving home from work last night, so at 6:30 I went upstairs to wake Griffin to come downstairs. I carried my sleeping little boy downstairs and sat in the rocking chair with him until Daddy arrived home. He still didn't wake up. Mike and I decided to just put him back in his bed and he slept all night until 6:15 this morning. What is up with that? I kept checking on him to make sure he was okay ... he was of course. I guess he was just really tired ... or growing. Who knows.

He woke up this morning at 6:15, happy, rested, talking and singing up a storm. He woke up saying things he's never said before. And he's singing words to songs that I didn't know he knew. My goodness ... it's amazing what a little more rest can do for you.

Using What I Have.

When I was working on an order earlier today, I came across this Griffin Tear Bear Title that I had made as an example. So ... after I finished the order, I decided to make a quick page.


Isn't it funny ... once a layout is finished and you think it's all completed and ready for the scrapbook, you look at it and think ... oh .... I should have done this, this, this and that instead.

Oh well ... I really like the way it turned out. I just wish I would have bordered all of the dark blue areas with dark red to make it match a little better.

And I wish my photos would show up more clear on my blog. I visit many blogs where the images are so clear, but mine always show up kind of blurry.

Promise To Self.

Last week I made a promise to myself ...
To scrapbook some personal pages!

As I've mentioned, Griffin is 2 and a half years old and I did not have one scrapbook page made for him.

Well ... that has changed ... let me present my first "Griffin Layout" ever!!



(You can click on the picture for a bigger view if interested)

This is a layout of Griffin's first Halloween in 2005. He was 8 months old and in my opinion the cutest little pumpkin ever!

I had so, so, so much fun making this layout.

I'm really excited about this, ya'll. I will be scrapping at least ONE personal scrapbook page a week ... and I plan to share them with you here.

Here's a few of my preferences when scrapbooking:

* I prefer using the 8.5" x 11" pages

* I really like the top loading albums. That way I can scrap the pictures I want to in no particular order. Hey Jen ... does CM offer anything like that?

* I love, love, love using patterned papers

* I like the time worn look alot ... so I'm loving those walnut inks

* Rarely do I use anything that I make on my own pages ... well, I never have in the past ... but with this page I did make some pumpkins using the cute little Quickutz Pumpkin die.

* This is the first page I've ever used photo splits on. I love them now!!

Okay ... so there you have it ... I am now on a mission to scrapbook, scrapbook, scrapbook!

Scrapbooking.

I am a scrapbooker ... but the honest truth is I scrapbook for everyone else and never for myself. Griffin is 2 and a half and I do not have one single page made for him. I have lots, and lots and lots of pictures ... but there they sit in the little envelopes they came in.

Well ... that's changing my friends!

I've been INSPIRED to scrapbook ... by my friend Andi!!

Just look at this page ... my dear friend Andi created this page of Griffin, herself and me from our visit last year. We went to the Festival of Trees when we visited Florida last November. (Andi, I hope you do not mind I borrowed the picture!)

I have so much STUFF to scrapbook with ... I'm making a promise to myself ... at least ONE personal scrapbook page a week ... at that rate I will have 52 done in a year!!

I am soooo excited!

Thank you Andi for inspiring me!!

What A Great Birthday.

I was really spoiled this birthday ... oh my gosh ... my husband, family and friends went all out. I'm so very blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.

Mike was away on a business trip in California last week ... thank goodness he was able to catch the red-eye home on Thursday evening and arrived back in Richmond on Friday morning (my birthday) at 9:00 am. Griffin and I had taken him to the airport the previous Saturday because I knew he would be flying all night and imagined he would be pretty tired Friday morning when he arrived home.

Unfortunately I had awaken with my "period headache" on Friday morning ... uggh ... I really, really hate those. But anyway ... we got home from the airport around 11:00, Mike went to sleep and Griffin and I stayed downstairs for awhile. Finally around 12:30 Griffin was ready for his nap and I went upstairs with him to sleep my headache off. Honestly, sleep is the only thing that seems to relieve it. So, the entire family slept until about 4 pm. We got up and went to Red Lobster for dinner. Going to Red Lobster is a tradition for my birthday. September they begin offering "Shrimp Fest" and we love, love, love that!! So after dinner we went to the mall and Mike and I both found shoes! I couldn't ask for a better birthday (well, we COULD leave the headache out). Mike also got me the most scrumptious carrott cake from The Haywood Grille! Yumm!!

The Thursday before my birthday my friend Melinda invited me to lunch. I got to choose where we went, so I asked to go to The Music Cafe in Goochland. I've never been there before and I'm glad we went. We had a really, really good time!

Then Thursday evening our friends Heidi, Ryan and Evan invited us to dinner for my birthday. So, we all went to Red Robin. I've mentioned it before ... but I just love going there ... it's so kid friendly!!

I received SO many nice emails, e-cards, phone calls, gifts and well wishes ... I just wanted to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my 40-year old heart!!

Oh ... and today is my Daddy's birthday!! He would have been 85. So Happy Birthday Daddy ... I know you and Momma are up there in heaven having one heck of a party!!

40.

I am 40 years old today ...
I can hardly believe it.

The View.

I had several questions in my comments about Sherri Shepherd joining The View. Basically most folks that don't watch seemed confused thinking Whoopi Goldberg was joining and wondering why Sherri was joining as well.

Well ... let's see if I can explain a little ...

Two seasons ago they had had Meredith, Star, Joy, Elisabeth and Barbara. Meredith left and Rosie O'Donnell replaced her. Then Star Jones left shortly after, never to be replaced last seaon. Now, Whoopie is replacing Rosie as moderator and finally they are replacing Star Jones with Sherri Shepherd. I'm so happy with this panel now.

I truly think it's a great group of women, with their own views and NOW these folks are willing to listen to everyone else's point of view without making everything political. Honestly, I watch The View for the hot topics, celebrities and fluff. If I wanted to watch a political show I would turn to Fox News or CNN. Granted, they do have their own political views on things ... but thankfully they have chosen to share those in only one segment of the hot topics section.

So to Whoopi, Joy, Sherri, Elisabeth and Barbara ... yes ... I will take a little time to enjoy The View each and every day!

Sherri Shepherd.

I am so, so excited that the new co-host of The View is Sherri Shepherd. I was really hoping she would get it. On Monday ... Barbara Walters announced that yes, indeed Sherri was the new co-host! Woo Hoo!!

I could not find a non copyrighted picture of her to share ... so if you are unfamiliar with Sherri ... stop by her website Sherri Shepherd's Website to see who she is.

I can totally relate to Sherri ... she turned 40 in April, I will be 40 in just a few days ... she has a young son ... she's a curvy woman ... and she is just so REAL. I love, love, triple love her!!