God Gives Strength

Shutterfly Freebie

2010-11-07T00:38:00.007-05:00

As most of you know I am a Shutterfly finatic. I have always used them for my annual photo books of our daughter. I am currently in the process of making christmas cards(the Folded Versions are my favorites since they allow me to add our yearly story) and I ran across an offer to good not to share. If any of you are like me, and I am sure most of you are, you will be sending out Christmas cards this year. Don't forget there are always Wall Calendars and Christmas Ornaments too! What better way than to get 50 free cards? I am so excited to share that the shutterfly community blog is hosting a give away. Thanks Margaret Ramsey, for letting my know about this great freebie! YAY!!

Just a quick little note: LAST MONTH was our 8th Anniversary!

Thanks to my in-laws we were able to go out to dinner & also spend a couple of hrs at Six Flags!

I Have Finally Made The Leap

2010-08-28T20:01:00.006-05:00

into the photography world that is... I hope you all will help me get the word out there to anyone in the Chicago IL/ Milwaukee WI areas.

My website is here.

feel free to pass this along anyway you'd like

any tips and tricks to getting to know and meet new customers please send your feed back my way~ Muah~Simona

Officially Falling Apart..

2010-08-13T10:19:00.005-05:00

I have been dealing with a lot of bum body parts over the last couple of years... I have admitted to the hubby that yes in about 10 years he might be toting around an elderly woman with a walker/cane/or wheelchair. I feel like I am much older(in my bones) than a 26 yr old.

For the last 3 + weeks I have been nursing a pain in my lower leg(just below the shin and above the ankle... It doesn't really have a name). Out of paranoia I finally made an appointment.. I thought it had to do with my back, something stemming from a pinched nerve, b/c when sitting my shin ankle area would become numb. I have at the same time been having a lot more back pain.

Come to find out yes I am a old lady... I ended up having x-rays and lab work the x-rays confirmed a stress fracture in the lower femur bone and I haven't heard back from the lab work yet but I am on calcium supplements. I have also been referred to a physical therapist for all my back pain. The Dr and I are hoping for some relief as I start building more muscles in my back. Woo Hoo! I can't wait to not have as much pain anymore. It makes me quite the grouch. I am looking forward to being a nicer wife and mom. Keep me in your prayers. I have a referral to see someone in Orthopedics to make sure my leg is healing properly. It takes about 6-8 weeks to completely heal and I am not allowed to do extra activities...In fact my Dr said the only reason she wants me doing anything is if it is life or death. So I am allowed to walk but nothing more.

Hope Every One Has A WonderFul Weekend!

These photos are irrelevant to the post today... They just make me smile..These are photos from back in March when my little sister and Miss G had a Impromptu Fashion Show.

Oh What Fun It Is To......

2010-08-05T17:40:00.003-05:00

COLOR :)

Miss G and I spent a good bit of time today coloring in this city. We had such a good time doing it too. She delegated what I could color and what she wanted to color(dare I say, I did alot of coloring???) I recommend checking out made by joel to download your very own creations....

Golf Lessons

2010-08-03T18:00:00.000-05:00

Jonathan convinced me that it would be wonderful for her b/c it is a sport that she can be a lady and continue to play as she gets older. He is also liking that they can do this together. He spoke with someone that said her daughter took lessons and is getting better acquainted with the fundamentals of it... So here we are Tue and Thurs until school starts.

Golfing With Daddy

2010-08-01T22:00:00.000-05:00

Jonathan really enjoyed getting to introduce G to golf. She loved it. More to come :)

This is where you would find me the entire night...

Back to Creating...

2010-07-26T18:00:00.001-05:00

I got out a pattern(my first ever) and went to town yesterday... I let Miss G pict out her fabric, it made her that much more excited to try it on and wear it around... It probably helped that I made her teddy bear a little outfit to match. I am not happy with the way the neck line turned out (I had to tweak it quite a bit) .Overall it is pretty cute , and give its length it'll be worn for quite sometime.

Can you help me help my friend, Crystal, show God's love to people in Africa?

2010-07-22T17:32:00.005-05:00

Crystal has put it in such beautiful words that I could never sum up even a portion of what it means to be able to help. Please go see and know what I am feeling. I cannot help as much as I would like but I just skipped our normal going out for one day so that I could help her with this cause. I feel that the thing I can help more with is by posting this on here and on facebook. I might be able to help one more family.

If God places it in you heart to help, Thank You! Crystal has put her wonderful talents to work to make sure it get out to everyone, she has been generous enough to make this beautiful quilt and put it up for a drawing... This beauty could be yours.

6 Flags Kind of Day

2010-07-18T20:23:00.001-05:00

G & I are rocking out a guitar at a shop inside 6 Flags. My mom and sister came to visit. My mom & I had a Pamp3r3d Ch3f Conf3r3nc3 in Chicago over the week and my sister stayed at our house watching Miss G. When our conference ended we went to ride roller coasters and go to the water park.

Celebrate the 4th today!

2010-07-04T20:11:00.003-05:00

Miss G has been waiting to wear this dress for about 3 weeks. Thank you Mama. My grandmother took her out to dinner before we left to spend some time with her and on there way home they stopped at Kohl's and walked in with this beauty...

Friends Are Wonderful

2010-06-22T17:44:00.008-05:00

Really Really Wonderful...

I hope you are as blessed as I am to have friends who will help you move 1000+ miles across country... I couldn't have asked for more...

We went to the city ...

Drove in the big city without any accidents....

We saw the bones of a T-Rex...

Did lots of window shopping...

Ate famously stuffed pizza at Giordano's Pizza...

Used the CTA system...

Ate at Jimmy Johns...

We learned G is a rather good photographer if needed in a pinch----> I have always been nervous of asking a random stranger to hold my prized possession(talking about my camera guys not my child.. :p)
We also learned she takes about 30+ photos for one sitting...

Walked WAY to far by accident....

Rode the Bus System ....

Ate at Noodles...

Took fabulous photos with crazy girls....

Ventured the metra with a 6 yr old ...

Used our GPS to find non-existent restaurants..

Miss read the maps, which caused us to walk an extra couple of miles...

We stood ashore & looked out over a lake that seemed as large as the Gulf of Mexico...

Did I mention ate good pizza??? :)

Went to many Museums...

Walked everywhere.....

Ate a Chicago Dog.... the one I had tasted just like a regular hotdog---> did I get jipped? was it supposed to be better?

Went shopping and found great deals...

We stood on a see thru ledge overlooking the city 103 stories up(approx 1350 ft), where by I didn't look directly down when standing on the ledge...

Went into the city to see the Sky Deck at Willis Tower to only have it closed due to high winds and window blowouts...

Realized our walking shoes hurt our feet more than our flipflops...We are Fl girls...

Had a wonderful birthday breakfast with the girls...

Dropped my best friends off at the airport....

One Bestie arrived just a little late(oopsie) and missed her flight...

Good thing it was early enough in the day that she could catch the next one....

I didn't cry...not that day....

Goodbyes are Hard

2010-06-16T17:17:00.002-05:00

Arent Ashleigh and I cute... James offered to redo the photo of us... I personally love this one b/c it is us.. Mama, my parents and James and Mindy were there to see us off. Miss You all

Oldies But Goodies

2010-06-15T17:10:00.000-05:00

We were able to spend an afternoon with the kids I Nannied almost 4 years ago. It just so happens that a friend of mine,Elisabeth, took the job after me and thanks to the kids Elisabeth and I are now best friends. I will miss you guys. G & I can't wait to visit you over the holidays.

Last Day with the Williams & Ennis Families

2010-06-15T12:33:00.005-05:00

What a wonderful experience it has been working with these two families... They were so wonderful to hire me last November knowing that I was leaving in the middle of June. Graciously enough rather than working for them they allowed me to work with them. I was able to get all the kids on a similar schedule and also work with the parents on having a nanny because before they asked me on they had never had a nanny before and they weren't quite sure how the whole process came together. It was a wonderful experience and although both they and I parted having a wonderful friendship, I can honestly say I never want to go back to regular nanny-ing if I can at all help it.

We can't wait to come visit you all in a couple of months and see how much you have changed!!!~hugs and kisses~

I know it sounds weird, but I think knowing that neither the family or I had major expectations and knowing that there was an end that had nothing to do with the family or really myself, made the goodbyes so wonderful. I was able to make sure they found someone that would be wonderful for the kids and get her all trained up before I left.

All I can say is if ever I need to go out there and make some extra moolah this is the way to do it, I am not quite sure what to call it but something that has to do with having to prepare th e family for a nanny while focusing on getting the children into a wonderful routine and then training the new nanny all in a matter of 6-8 weeks that way its almost like a part time job.

My Baby Sister

2010-06-10T21:00:00.005-05:00

I can't even believe she is in Middle School now! Boy does the time fly!!!

Congrats Ash!

G's last Day of Kindergarten

2010-06-10T19:12:00.003-05:00

Last Day

for friends from Liza Jackson

for Mrs. James

for getting on and off the bus at Mama's

for going to school where her Aunt Ashleigh attends with her

for riding the bus with Aunt Ashleigh

for going to school in Fl

for going down the yellow hall to class

Last day with Travis, Coleman, Sarah, Holla & Aleah in the background.
Last day with Travis , Mikayla, Coleman, Zionna, Sarah, Layla, Holla and beside G is Sophia. Again Aleah in the background.

Last day with Travis and Coleman(as you can see they loved her, Coleman loved my camera more)

Last day with Mikayla

Last day with Zionna

Some Favorites:

pink and blue and red

chicken nuggets with ketchup

Sarah was her favorite friend in class

the mean girl on the bus, Zandrea was her best friend by the end of the year

play dough was her favorite thing to do at school

recess was awesome

you learned your phone number and address

you had a chore chart to complete once you got home from school: it had shower, hang up towel get dressed, put dirty clothes away, get out folder and start homework

you loved your bus ride
your favorite thing to do after school was go swimming with either Ashleigh or hunter

your favorite breakfast was pop tarts and cereal

you favorite lunch at school was hamburgers with ketchup

favorite snack at school was cookies

100Th day of school was great

loved being a car rider too!

thanksgiving celebration was fun

when you grow up you want to be a police officer, b/c police officers shoot with guns and have hand cuffs and mommy will be your nanny for you 3 kids

you loved making projects at school like gingerbread men and making puppets in art

in Spanish you learned numbers & colors and how to speak in Spanish : adios-goodbye, Ola-hello,

things that were popular : silly bands(shaped rubber bands that you wear on your wrist like a bracelet that you traded for other ones at school and on the bus)

your favorite song right now is all the wonderful horses(the yodeling christian CD)

some things you like to do when you are bored go outside to play, eat food, playing the computer and watching cartoon, and going swimming

you go to bed 800 and wake up at 700 for school

the school bus comes at 800, school starts at 830 & ends at 300, you get off the bus at 400

you collect pencils, silly bands, rocks, bookmarks

you love cats and dogs

your favorite outfit is the light pink and grey dress with hearts and your long jean skirt with your purple little pets shop shirt
every time I have asked you a question tonight you have responded with ....that's a good question... hahaha

Miss G's Kindergarten Celebration

2010-06-04T00:32:00.002-05:00

What an exciting year!! Miss G has gone from being able to write mommy, daddy, a couple of the kids from last years names and her own to being able to sound out the words and partially read. She has had an excellent year in spelling and math. Given our new circumstances and everything she has pressed on and done so well. We only managed to miss school the days we went to visit Jonathan during his basic training graduation in March. We are going to miss our Liza Jackson friends and staff(okay maybe I'll be missing them, I have only dreamed of my children going to this school since it opened~I practically had a party when I found out last spring she was accepted). Esp Mrs James who is also moving on to another school because of the military.

Isn't She a Doll?!?!

2010-05-31T12:25:00.002-05:00

Happy Memorial Day!

This is my niece, Miss A. She is 2 1/2 and soooo very squeezable! Right!?!?!

Family Dues

2010-05-30T22:30:00.004-05:00

Due to my BIG MOVE in just a matter of weeks, I have conned my siblings to get together for a mini photo session... Keep in mind there isn't really a photographer here, I ran set it up and just kept my fingers crossed that no one budged the buttons.... Hilariously we had about 30 frame-able photos and the other 600+ were just stuck in my digital album. We had such a wonderful time, Thank you Guys!!!

A Dear Childhood Friend

2010-05-25T19:30:00.002-05:00

A dear friend from childhood & my teenager years came into town (not for great reasons~due to her grandfathers sudden turn for the worst and then his passing away). . She grew up with about half of my girlfriends(there were about 5 more whom showed up extremely late and therefore didn't end up in the group shot). I felt it was only fitting for her and her family(she has a brood of 4, 3 boys and 1 girl all under the age of 6) that we all get our kids together just like the good ole' days. We had such an enjoyable evening.

Thank you to all who were able to make it out... I know both she and I really appreciate it!

Easter

2010-04-10T20:00:00.001-05:00

Thank you Lord for all that you have given me

The Tooth Fairy is FiNaLlY on Her Way to Our House!

2010-04-07T21:53:00.004-05:00

Yes I actually asked her dentist last month if maybe something was wrong. She is one of the oldest students in her 1st grade class and to my knowledge the only one with all of her teeth. The dentist re-assured me that we are lucky(uh huh!) because the longer the baby teeth stay in the better off her big teeth will be, because they are protected under her gums! Boo Ya to all you 5 yr old 1st graders with no teeth! Well back to my normal self....

Do you see this wonderful fabulous-ness??? Well Crystal, from over at Little Bit Funky, saved the day. You see since we moved in with my grandmother last Jan(eagerly awaiting to join my husband after boot camp in June) I have managed to misplace her tooth pillow~that she has had since ..ummm almost birth~thanks Nana who always preps way ahead ;p, but no thanks to me I have managed to realize this as her tooth is getting ReAlLy wiggly... I emailed Crystal, picked our her favorite color in a Ho Ho Monster and then asked Crystal to overnight it. It arrived after school just in the neck of time. Conveniently enough our local $1 theater was playing "The Tooth Fairy Movie", we slid on over there , got pizza, a pitcher of soda and some nachos to celebrate her tooth.

I borrowed the idea from a website and then made some slight changes to authenticate it.... Feel free to "borrow" it as well....

Dear Gabrielle, April 6^th 2010

Hello there! Before I congratulate you on losing your very first tooth, let me introduce myself) after all, strangers shouldn't be leaving letters under your pillow, and if I introduce myself, then we won’t be strangers anymore! (Don’t worry I already know all about you- it’s all in my files at the Tooth Fairy Castle.)

My name is the Tooth Fairy – your parents might have told you about me when your tooth finally came out. My special job is to make sure that all good little children that put a tooth they lost under their pillow at night get a special surprise for when the y wake up early in the morning. My job keeps me very very busy- my goodness there’s a lot of children to visit every night, just like you that are losing their baby teeth left and right. But, I also like to relax during the day at my Tooth Fairy Castle, catching up on some of my Tooth Fairy paperwork and playing with my little doggie, Canine.

Enough about me – it’s your special day! So congratulations on losing your very first tooth, it sure didn’t want to come out of your mouth, did it?!?! Don’t worry I’ll be back to visit you again when you lose the next one! Keep up the brushing every morning and evening, don’t forget to rinse and spit, as well as floss and use mouth wash because I am always looking for nice shiny teeth.

Love

The Tooth Fairy

As you can tell she was very tired and yet wired all at the same time when we took these photos.

What Personalities!

2010-04-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

These are some of Miss G's B.F.F.'s from birth.

It just so happens that their mother is one of my B.F.F.'s so they really didn't get a choice, aren't they goofy kids?

She is really going to miss them.

P.S. We also found out that day that Mr.L has a a crush on Miss G!!!

It Snowed Just For Us!

2010-03-30T22:44:00.002-05:00

Chicago Was Wonderful! We had a wonderful flight into the city.You would laugh that immediately after landing we drove through a drive thru and without thinking we ordered *sweet *tea*, What Were We Thinking... The guy said "huh?" We will have to work on that for when we move here over the summer. We were brave and ventured out in the "barely covering the ground snow" and attempted to make a snowman. After having it fall down time and time again, we gave up and just took the photo. (yep it isn't great but we made memories making it)

We were able to venture out into downtown for an evening. We went shopping at the Navy Pier and also window shopped from the comfort of our car. Then we stopped for dinner at Rain Forrest Cafe'.

Doesn't he look Dashing?

Check Back Soon !

2010-03-07T22:28:00.001-06:00

I plan on up dating this soon. We get to see Jonathan in 11 days ☆yay☆. I cannot wait, many updates soon, I have thanksgiving, christmas, going away parties,& birthdays galore.

My Dad's 52nd Birthday

2010-02-03T17:11:00.001-06:00

Mama's 74th Birthday

2010-01-18T16:36:00.000-06:00

Jonathans Going Away Thing

2010-01-16T23:00:00.001-06:00

Out to Dinner with some good friends

All the girls

All the guys

One of Miss G's (& her mommies) Fav Pastimes~

2010-01-16T17:00:00.000-06:00

Happy New Years 2010

2009-12-31T23:59:00.000-06:00

Christmas Day Lunch at Mamas

2009-12-28T15:43:00.003-06:00

Haha ! That is my dad and my step mother, Kathren. He tried on my nephew, Hunters Transformer mask.

This Christmas just wasn't quite the same at the Cameron's. My Uncle isn't able to travel right now(please pray for him, it is rather serious), my Aunt and cousins normally come for a couple of days, we are so glad they are able to all be there with him. My sister Jessica and her husband Samuel normally travel here for the holidays as well and they just weren't able to squeeze it in this year that is also the same for Jonathan's parents who normally come for either Thanksgiving or Christmas. (Cindy~M-I-L~ was able to travel here with us in the 2nd week of November and stay until the 1st week of December so graciously helping us pack up for our big move to Chicago, she was able to spend the Thanksgiving holidays visiting family in Mobile)

Again we busted out our Wii. You can see that the guys put their game faces on. (weird that they all match!) My mama plays tennis regularly and she was standing normally swinging when the ball came her way, well I was jumping all over the place legs and arms going which ever way... in no apparent direction... it was rather hilarious.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-28T12:51:00.001-06:00

We went over to Angela & Elijahs around 7:45 for an early Christmas Breakfast.

Today is going to be such a busy day.
Now let me tell you , boy did her mama teach her well! That girl can cook! Elijah even got in the kitchen and made Jonathan and himself some "manly" breakfast steaks! Yummy~! I had to control my self alot! Why do you ask? We ate breakfast at 9:00 and then around 10:45 we headed over to my mama's to help her prepare for our massive (20+) family to show up around noon for our 12:30 lunch~or better known as the stuff yourself until you can't move session.

The kids opened up their presents. We brought over one for G to open so she wouldn't feel left out(now don't worry~ yes she did get a digital camera but what she doesn't know is that it is my old camera from about 5 yrs ago~ we are starting her with it so if it breaks or gets lost it won't be that big of a deal~ do you see her face~PURE JOY!)

Silly Boys!

Christmas Eve at Our All Packed-up Place

2009-12-24T23:59:00.001-06:00

Checking out the crew as everyone was getting here. This is I believe the 4th year we have all gotten together with my moms side of the family here at my house. This is the last year for about 6+ years that I will be throwing the bash. We are now moving to Chicago for about 8 months come next Summer. (original plans see a previous post...)

We all had a go around on Wii bowling before the party started.

Even my mid 80's grandmother had a blast!

Notice our fabulous furniture pieces... We have just about everything packed up, our bed is on the floor, the only pieces we kept out were the leather chairs, the lamps(simply b/c I am not sure how to pack them) and a corner desk that is currently housing our T.V. and game systems.

Just a few wonderful gifts this year included: a portable hard drive, a GSP Tom Tom, a blue ray player, a sewing machine, a laptop, and everyone received a digital photo frame filled with many memories I have collected over the years.

A wonderful way to end our years in this house...(we will be moving out in about 5 days)

Ginger Bread House Perfection

2009-12-21T14:38:00.000-06:00

While the kids were napping during our Christmas Break we brought all sorts of things to do. This is one of them.

She wanted to show that she made it look just like the box.

Friends Cookie Decorating Party at Church

2009-12-20T11:41:00.000-06:00

What a fun time! The cookies were such a hit! Story time was very entertaining and all the kids loved their gifts! Couldn't have been better! Thanks!

Nice Cameron Family Photo's(+1)

2009-12-19T14:50:00.001-06:00

I just happened to stop by right after they got in from their work Christmas Party, I asked them if they wouldn't mind me taking a few shots... And Naturally for the last one they asked if Miss G could be in it....

Bama Wins the National Championship ~oh & Bobby's Birthday

2009-12-05T14:47:00.001-06:00

Christmas with Gramma

2009-12-05T14:00:00.002-06:00

Gramma was in town helping us pack up for our big move and she decided she would go ahead and have her Christmas with Gabrielle before she went home. I also felt Jonathan could open a gift and in turn I opened one too! I got his come cologne(see the cigar), he got me the aweful pink snuggie! I thought for a long time he was tricking me! Poor Jonathan! Maybe it'll keep us warm in our cold winters in California! ha!

Miss G's Kindergarten Performance

2009-12-03T21:00:00.002-06:00

Asop's Fables

She has a couple of videos from her performance as well that I am going to try and post*edited to say...see video below***.

Cindy, Mama, Dad, Ashliegh, Mom, Jackie, and Grandma Janie ~Thanks for coming tonight!

Miss M's 6th Birthday Lunch

2009-12-02T14:27:00.002-06:00

Miss G's Besties 6th Birthday, we treated her to lunch at Red Robins in Pensacola.

Setty up the Christmas Decorations

2009-11-28T20:25:00.003-06:00

This make look nice, I am going to for warn you that it took a lot to get it to this point...
Miss G looks like she had an A hah moment

She loved setting up this miniature tree! It was just her size!

We always let her pick out the spots for her special ornaments. Why does she always pick out spots in the back on the wall side... Is it a kid thing?

These ornaments are her new ones for this year.One from Nana, one from mommy, one from daddy, and the last from Gramma and Poppy.

Bill's Birthday at Longhorn's Steakhouse

2009-11-27T15:35:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Bill! Glad you were able to make it down here to spend Thanksgiving with the family! Wish we could see you guys more often!

G's field trip with Gramma

2009-11-19T16:01:00.000-06:00

Happy Spookily Day

2009-11-02T08:43:00.005-06:00

Happy Halloween!!!

Literacy Day~ Fancy Nancy

2009-10-16T10:47:00.001-05:00

What fun !! Wed we spent some time going through her closet picking out stuff to wear to school for Literacy Day on Fri. I would hold up items and she'd approve them, most everything I picked out was to her standards but there were a few items that according to Miss G, weren't "Fancy enough" . Ha! Too funny. In the end she wore her fancy Nancy ballet slippers and fancy Nancy purse that she got as a Christmas present last year, a fancy "itchy" boa wrapped around her waist and a crown with antenna over her curled hair. She had on several pieces of "jewelry" and her sun glasses. If any of you have girls out there you have got to check out the books.....
Here's a excerpt from Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy... I am ecstatic. (That's a fancy word for happy.) We're going to get a puppy-a real one......
She always dresses fabulously and says unique words.

Open House ~ Ms.James Class

2009-10-14T10:55:00.001-05:00

We had such a tight shift on Tuesday. We managed to squeeze everything in, including open house, a parent teacher conference, and stopping for ice cream at Dairy Queen afterwards. I think we might make ice cream a tradition for all open house evenings.

She was so proud of her art work hanging out in the entrance to the school.

They have a puppet area in her class room.

Birthdays Galore!!!

2009-10-05T09:52:00.003-05:00

I cant believe how the time flies!!! Little Miss G just turned 6!!! Wow! We had so many celebrations! She's such a blessed Girl! Happy Birthday Sweetheart! We Love You ! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Beautiful Skirts

2009-10-05T09:02:00.003-05:00

Yep arent they gorgeous? I spent the majority of saturday morning figuring out how to make them with the help of my M-I-L(she made the Black Mod skirt, while I was making the Pink Fab skrit) and then Saturday night I wipped up the Green Paisley skirt! Whew! What a weekend! These will be in my etsy shop soon. Right now the only sizes will be (6-12,12-18, 18-24 months) and then 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

School Time

2009-08-27T13:19:00.000-05:00

As you can see my baby started Kindergarten last monday. Doesn't she look excited!!! Here you can see her on the Cat bus, on her way to school . Further down you also see me at her school walking her to class on her first day too! She wanted me and daddy to meet her there to make sure she made it to her classroom (she was a little uncertain if she could remember where it was)

This is her before school waiting in the driveway for the bus. We did alot to waste time that morning(since her bus was 1/2 a hour late), so you'll see her posing , playing 'rock paper sissors" with daddy, and then her getting on the bus.

She informed me that evening that the best part of her day was riding the bus. She absolutely loved it. She also let me know that I no longer need to follow her and then walk her to class, she was confident that she knew where she was going and even if she did get lost her teacher would be sticking her head out into the hallway to make sure she'd make it to class. So I feel demoted some how. *pout pout pout* I guess I'll get over it. She did make sure to ask me what I was now doing with my days since she was now at school all day... Made me feel good to know she noticed i'm all alone now.

Stoked that Summer & my 60+ hrs are OVER!!

2009-08-27T13:08:00.001-05:00

Yep sad huh? those are my summer hours. Being a nanny, a mom & a wife(amongst many other things) I rarely had time this summer for anything aside from working. I spent this past weekend in total surprise that I could actually function past 9:00pm, yea not very late but normally by 8:30 I am a zombie of drool and slurring words. I literally feel like I am not sober at these "late" hours. This past weekend I let one of my girlfriends talk me into letting her have a "jewelry party" here at my house, I couldn't believe I said yes. Not that I'm not a very giving and sharing person, but I really wanted to join in on the fun & I really didn't think I'd be able to do that since the kids I watch didn't officially start school until Monday... Well here comes Saturday night...Normally I would have spent at lest all day and the day before "super cleaning" but I just wasn't feeling up to it, so instead I just picked up, swept and then spent most of Saturday morning relaxing. THANKYOU for me not feeling like it, b/c when 11:00pm came and went and the "party" was still in full swing, I was actually still in full swing too!!! YAY! One of my girlfriends actually noticed and thanked me for not kicking them out yet. They ended up leaving at about 11:50 and I was still going, I finished cleaning up and still stayed up to read a few chapters. I love when "summer" ends. I am so glad that I can stay up past 8:30 and not get picked on for not making sense when I talk, b/c I am still "there". Happy End Of The Summer To ME!!!

summer to summer

2009-08-26T08:58:00.001-05:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

2 Fab Giveaways

2009-08-08T21:47:00.001-05:00

Two of my favorite bloggers are giving away wonderful things today, please enter and try to win.

http://littlebitfunky.blogspot.com/2009/08/friday-giveaway-on-saturday.html

http://www.joyshope.com/2009/08/hope-ink-giveaway.html

Good luck to you!

Give Away today

2009-07-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hello all! Since my shop is officially up and running, I decided to call in a favor of a fellow blogger Julie over at Joy's Hope. She has helped to inspire me over the last year or more, so when she said she love to help me out, I was just ecstatic, to say the least. For those of you who are new to my site I'd love to give you the tour... over to the left you'll see photos of my beautiful daughter and my loving husband, who love every minute of my creativity and are so encouraging in my endeavor. Especially little Miss G who is constantly telling me I need to add a little more ribbon here and more rhinestones there! Love 5 year olds and their independence. As most of you will notice I took a leave of absence throughout the beginning of the new year, that was due largely in part to the craft fairs I took part in with a few girlfriends this past spring. I loved them so much. I just had the hardest time setting up and taking down, it was like I never wanted them to start and once they started I didn't want to leave. Hearing the feedback was such a great boost for my confidence and self esteem. Now if only I could start selling on a more regular basis... now this is where you and Julie come in.

Julie and I are hosting a giveaway this morning, it will go on until monday July 6th noon pacific time, where Julie will randomly choose to receive one of my most popular items the Chalk Clipboard absolutely FREE and for ANYONE who leaves a comment and makes a purchase here with in the next 30 days, will receive 25% off there 1st order. I'll be providing all commenters with a coupon code to redeem before check out.

Thankyou for checking out my blog and my shop. Come back when ever you feel the need. I'd love any and all feedback.

Thanks and Take Care

~Simona

Last Day of K-4 (formerly known as pre-k)

2009-06-02T13:49:00.000-05:00

She had such a wonderful year this year. I can't even imagine her teachers being any more caring and loving. She also had such great friends. Can't wait for summer to get underway. If only I could freeze time. She is in such a great stage right NOW!

Started My Etsy Shop Today

2009-05-24T23:55:00.001-05:00

So I started my shop today, don't have everything listed yet but I am soon on my way. I am having problems with my photos being to large, any helpful hints on ways to take great photos but have less quality, or is there some way to change to photos I already have to be the correct size(less than 2mb preferable closer to 250k)? come visit me at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7434425&ga_search_query=smwcustomcreations&ga_search_type=seller_usernames unfortunately no photos yet ... These are supposed to be the photos listed with the items

Two....

2009-05-07T07:40:00.000-05:00

With two customs orders under way, both orders from my craft show, I'm feeling great. I have been very busy this last week. My husbands sister and family are moving here tomorrow and before they get into their new place, they're staying with us for a couple of days. Since the hubby has a little more time on his hands he's been helping me out around the house and in the yard, in preparation for his sister( which is really a great excuse to get a little bit of help) but all that being said we've been deep cleaning EVERYTHING. When they're settled into their new place, I am going to start setting up my etsy shop. I'd love to have some girft certificates or free giveaways... if anyone is interested in hosting that on their blog let me know. Until next time~Simona

Below are the clipboards I made for the craft show

A little help?

2009-04-22T08:45:00.000-05:00

I am trying to enlarge my portfolio. With that in mind I would like to have some mini sessions, where I get with you and your family or just the kids and shoot for 20-30 minutes, from there you will be provided with 10 proofs to choose from. I have set aside Saturday May 23rd from 8:00-6:00 at the Landing in Downtown Fort Walton Beach. Prices are as follows for the day:

Session Fees $25.00

Per Print:
5x7 $3.50
8x10 $8.00

Wallets $4.50
11x14 $15.00
12x16 $20.00
16x20 $25.00

12x16 collage print
$15.00
Digital Art Canvas 11X14
$120.00
Digital Art Canvas 16X20
$150.00

Digital Art Canvas 8x10
$100.00

5x7 Invitations
$1.00 a piece

Contact me at Walterssimona@gmail.com

Craft Show Update

2009-04-21T19:47:00.000-05:00

So we spent all Saturday at the show and in the end our whole booth sold over $250 but that doesn't go very far when combined the booth has 7 vendors in it... Now did I mention that the craft fair as a whole have over 90 booths (yep! ) that means over 90 booths filled with options galore for all of our shoppers. So needless to say we thought $250 was pretty good, but from now on we will double check how many vendors there will be before making any commitments. Due to last weekend being a little bit of a flop, we have all decided to do this coming weekends craft fair, we are hoping that since it includes booths for kiddie crafts and food vendors on top of the normal craft vendors and there are only any where up to 50 booths we feel we will do much better... Wish us luck. The following photos are the set up photos from 7:30 AM, we actually changed it up a bit somewhere around 10:30 and I never got any more photos. The booth looked so much better the second go around, but that's okay...Here you are our 1st show.

Stay tuned

2009-04-11T12:17:00.000-05:00

I have been so busy and have had no time to blog...But I wanted to show everyone what I have been working on!

Just one letter photographed here but isn't it nice on my shelf?

I know it's not much, but I have a ton of stuff, not all photographed ...YET. These are just a few with photos. If anyone is interested in a special order don't hesitate to ask. Anything here can be made in any colors or sizes. Also coming soon more photography...Stay tuned.

More to come soon. I am busy getting ready for a craft fair this weekend. Some time early next week.

Thanks for being patient with me~Simona

Christmas Tour

2008-12-23T22:23:00.001-06:00

These are some photos of our holiday decorations, we had so much fun this year putting everything together.If you look closely you can see the ornaments Miss G put on(mainly on the bottom branches) This is only our second Christmas with a tree so all of our decorations tend to match and look like they have been coordinated, but my hubby informs me that all ornaments from this year on will all be reminders of certain things/ memories...

My in-laws helped to get us started and after several days spent with my mom either shopping, wrapping, or decorating stocking I was finally able to get some photos taken of all our hard work... Hope the photos turned out.

Warmest of Wishes this Holiday Season....

Simona

Family

2008-12-15T14:26:00.001-06:00

Well my in-laws came in for the holidays, with a suprise sudden change of heart from my sister in law and her hubby, originally they weren't gong to be able to make it but on Sat the told us they'd be in on Tue night. Well here are some updated photos of my nephew Wyatt and my husband Jonathans parents, sister and her hubby.

My Youngest Sisters 10th Birthday

2008-11-25T21:52:00.000-06:00

I can't believe shes only 10... It seems like eons ago when I locked her in my car (yet it was only 8 years ago). Happy Birthday Ashleigh!

Miss G's Thanksgiving Feast

2008-11-25T21:49:00.000-06:00

She had her 1st school performance today here it is...

She then ate lunch with us... Good Times. She sure makes a cute little Indian, doesn't she?

Out with Friends

2008-11-25T21:44:00.000-06:00

Which also turned into Becks suprise birthday party...Yay! Happy Birthday today!

New Hat

2008-11-19T20:22:00.000-06:00

I took Miss G to the park to show off the hat I put together...
She loves it and wants to give all of her friends one! So friends be on the look out.

Christmas Cards

2008-11-15T13:02:00.000-06:00

I am trying something new this year... these are a few card ideas that I have put together, if anyone would like their own let me know. All I'd need from you are a few color ideas and 5 photos (max). I'll design them for $15 and send them to you, you may print them however you like (card stock, photo paper etc).

Too Cute!

2008-11-13T14:09:00.000-06:00

Almost One!

2008-11-13T14:07:00.000-06:00

Here's a photo from today! I went to see my family and when I went to leave, Miss A ( my rather adorable niece ) wanted to come with us... But unfortunately I couldn't take her with me, I was able to get a few really good moments on the front lawn with her... She really just wanted to go outside, but I just like thinking that maybe the soon to be one year old (in 5 days actually), really just wanted me. But none the less here's my favorite photo.

Sugar N Spice....

2008-11-12T20:49:00.000-06:00

Farm Day 2008

2008-11-12T20:17:00.000-06:00

We actually dragged Jonathan to this one! We arrived there super late due to a football game and a yard sale (at my house). We were aiming for noon but arrived there somewhere around 2:45. I was a little bummed but the cotton candy helped ease my pain! After that, we had snow cones and cotton candy, mixed with a little funnel cake and boiled peanuts. I know it's a strange mix, but yummy all the same. There were some fun hay slides and a very cool treasure hunt (which both G and her bestie soon lost interest in) but the hay slide area was much cooler.

Miss G did the Zip line first thing (kind of wished we saved that one for later, due to the fact that she hurt herself when she landed), but all in all she loved it.

Becoming a Daisy

2008-11-12T20:05:00.000-06:00

She started Daisey's last week (officially anyway). Miss G was finally able to wear her uniform! She's officially in Troop 126 and very proud. Here are some of the induction photos...

Halloween Late'

2008-11-03T12:55:00.001-06:00

Sorry, I know I am a couple of days late but we have had a very busy weekend. From yard sales and friends coming over to Farm Day(Definiak Springs) and dinner at our friends house. Thats was just Saturday. Hope you like the photos. More to follow from Farm Day.

Better Late Than Never 10/04/08

2008-10-23T12:59:00.000-05:00

So a couple of weekends ago I was able to attend a good friend of mine, Bethany's, wedding. What a well put together event. Her mom and close friends/relatives put the whole thing together. What a fantastic job they did. I just took my camera with me to get some snapshots, but a friend of mine, Jessica, was their actual photographer.She did such a beautiful job capturing all the intricate details.
To see more from this wedding see her site HERE http://jessicajamesphotography.typepad.com/jessica_james_photography/2008/10/home-spun-elegance.html#trackback

Monkey Bars & Snapping

2008-10-23T12:00:00.001-05:00

So as you guys noticed, over the weekend G made a new friend. HIS family was one of the families that got together for our camp out this last weekend. G and he were inseparable all Saturday, but over the course of that one day he taught her how to use the monkey bars, isn't that exciting... I don’t know, I think it is. There was also another first this week... she has learned how to snap her fingers (and actually make a noise). She is currently using her thumb and ring finger, so it’s not perfected yet. But it's cute none the less.

Camping Out (Kind of)

2008-10-18T22:35:00.000-05:00

So this weekend some friends from church decided due to the economic struggle most everyone is in that we'd all get together to go camping, but do it with a little twist, we would be camping out on the property behind our church. So not only was it close but it was virtually of no cost... The only cost I incurred was that of our meals. Which in all honesty, we eat anyway right? So we headed out there Friday night after work and aside from the light sprinkle from 5:30 or so until 6:30, the weather was perfect and the company was great. Jonathan was even able to make it out (he took a small break from schoolwork) for a little while. Although he wasn't able to stay the night, Miss G and I did get to with the help of our dear friend Rebekah. We stayed in her tent (courtesy of Alison and Jonathan Riggs), ate some smores, and just had an over all good time. My sister Jessica also joined us in our tent, which just meant we stayed up and chatted until all hours of the night. G with some of her friends.
Kids playing G's Hop Scotch
Miss Pootyhead(she was in a bad mood)
The tent was a little to small for the bed but the squeezed it in.
Uncle Jonathan with Baby A Me & Jessica (Baby A's mom)
Showing off his muscles
They were both in weird moods, but I caught them smiling
The girls

Shirley & Mr L
Katie & Melissa
A friend of Joanna's & Joanna

Me Beck &Stephanie
Elisabeth, Bro Stan, Teresa & Baby E
Rebekah

Rebekah & Mr M
Matt
Everyone joining in campfire hymns

Jessica & Rebekah

Sierra & Kayla
Baby M & Baby E
Getting a little B Ball in.... Girls VS Boys
Girls are totally loving their score right here!

Kayla, Teresa & Sierra
Teresa & Sierra

Grandma Kathren and Baby A
Elisabeth

Teresa & Baby E

Gabrielle getting woken up by me, taking her first camping photo.... what a trooper.

I think I slept in on Sat, I mean, being woken up at 7:45 or so by a foghorn kinda blurs the memory, but it counts as sleeping in, right? Gabrielle was having so much of a good time playing with her new and adventurous friend, MR. E, that I just couldn't pull my self up to making her leave. We stayed until 7:15 pm, when I finally decided we needed to come home to clean up, (she was covered in orange/red clay pretty much from head to toe). In fact, even when I was calling her to gather up her things, she had to go dig out her shoes from inside the clay piles. I have Miss B to thank for helping her with that! I believe, she too, had buried her shoes; luckily, she found them after about 10 minutes of digging.... Another great part of the day was that she and I both had a first time of something.... We both drove a Bob CAT today! I believe I felt just as excited as she did.... (By the way Chris if you ever get to read this I'd love to come help destroy things if I am ever needed, I am also sure Miss G would love to as well!)

Kick ball

Rebekah

The boys
We make him work harder b/c he's the pastor...lol, just kidding.
G and her new friend Mr E

Getting down and dirty in the clay pile.
Baby M and Baby C
Baby M's mommy & daddy, Jessica & Jared( Whose birthday was today)

Me and the Bobcat
Here's G & Mr E testing new grounds on the monkey bars.

Introducing Ben & Bethany Banfield

(the newlyweds, I believe this is their first function since their wedding)

Rebekah Elisabeth(Baby E's mom) and Christina(Mr E's mom)

G too got to drive the Bobcat today.

Birthday Girl Christa & her daughter Kayla

Kathryn (Due any day)

Open House

2008-10-17T10:22:00.000-05:00

We had our first open house last night... She was so excited to introduce me and the triplets o her friends, show us her classoom and her work. She has a certain place she sits everyday, with her two besties from school sitting right beside her. Pictured above is G with her friend Miss M. She was very proud of all her accomplishments around the classroom. She's even growing a pumpkin!! Too Cute.

Pumpkin Time

2008-10-14T12:18:00.000-05:00

Today was a wonderFULL day, little G went on her first fieldtrip (which also means she had her first bus ride) to our local pumpkin patch. She had such a blast with her school besties. They got to play bean bag toss, bowling, and goofy golf. On top of all that they also had a tatoo pickin, story time, and a hay ride, which for all you parents out there this one made even me a little woozy, the driver was all over the place. So it was a fantastic day. Afterwards we were invited on a playdate, for lunch with her school besties, Miss M and Miss A. They had such a good time. This was our first get together, outside of school, with them and they had a great time. Hopefully more of that to come.

SO FAR..... I'm a little tired

2008-10-11T20:12:00.000-05:00

Really, it did felt like I slept in because I normally get up a little before 5 am. So, after getting my extra two hours of sleep, I made the kids their breakfast and started getting them to their soccer uniforms. I delayed getting their shin-guards on until right before we headed out, that way, they could play a little longer. After around an hour of playing in G's room, we headed out... so far so good.... The soccer game went fairly well too, Yay! After soccer we picked up Jess (my sis) and Little Miss A (my niece) and headed to P'cola, to the OktoberFest thrown by my kids' (H, L & S) parents. The ride to Pensacola was good; in fact, we had a great time at the Oktoberfest too! We saw a fairly good magic show (although a little long, 45-55 minutes as a clown was showing off his skills). Then, we had some artistic face painting done. We joined in a cakewalk (which S informed me that he thought it was called a "cape walk" and he would be winning a cape instead of a take home cake). The kids also helped dunk people into the dunking booth (by pushing the button, instead of throwing the ball). In addition, all the girls loved going down the huge, giant slide over and over again.
The time-telling sign that it was time to go was when within a three (3) minute time span all of the kids (H, L & S) had their own individual meltdowns (each one of the kids was unaware of the other kids' spells ). My child proceeded to have one in the car shortly thereafter and well let's just say I AM POOPED. Not only did we then have a hour an a half drive home still, but then once we got home, we went to my grandmother's house for a birthday party for my 3 year old nephew Mr. H. and, man, do I feel like I just ran a marathon (although not speaking from experience here or anything)!I've also just finished restoring my computer due to a bug (I believe) we downloaded from the site LimeWire. I highly recommend music listeners not use this site; no matter how wonderful it sounds. Since we downloaded it to our computer last month, everything has been shutting down randomly and then rebooting, amongst other things. Again, I really do not recommend it. I hope that that was the answer to all my problems. We just have really bad luck with computers it seems. Speaking of computers, I tried my best to wipe out our old one last night to make it accommodating for the kids this weekend. So far so good too! I was not able to take it to a restore point, but I was able to clean out most of the memory (which as per my conversation with our computer guy, the memory, or lack thereof was one of the main factors in the reasons behind it being a terrible computer). But, as far as G is concerned, she is now the proud owner of a semi-fully functional computer to play her "educational" games (Shush! Don't tell her that they are good for her!), at her will, with mommy and daddy's permission of course.

So I have a busy weekend ahead on me...

2008-10-10T10:04:00.000-05:00

This coming weekend I am keeping the triplets, and boy do we have a full weekend coming up. From hair cuts, and soccer games to birthday parties and Oktober Fest. I am roaring to go. Hopefully I have many photos to show from this coming weekend.

~Simona

Tea Party for Princesses

2008-10-08T14:25:00.001-05:00

What a fantastic party! She had so much fun with all of her friends. When everyone arrived, first, they had their photo taken with the birthday girl; followed by a party serving Mango tea, chocolate milk, cucumber sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, & potato salad. Then, we headed out of the room (while our helpers, IE the moms, brought out the desserts) to play pin the spout on the teapot (such a hit) while singing "I'm a little teapot short and spout...". When we returned to the tearoom, we sang the traditional song to Miss G, and then we all had a birthday cake to blow out the candles on. Afterwards, while snacking on lemon and raspberry tarts, mini cakes and mini lemon bars, the entire group made princess necklaces and color their own princess puzzles. The finale was Miss G opening her presents.

Thanks for all who came and all the moms who helped out. ~Simona

Miss G's Birthdays

2008-10-08T14:08:00.001-05:00

She had such a great birthday this year, in the end I was trying to keep it small but it ended up being 6 celebrations: first at school, the that day with mommy and daddy out to lunch, then that evening with the triplets I watch ( b/c Mr S wasn't invited to the princess tea party due to the fact that he is a boy, so I promised him a little celebration at their house on Miss G's real birthdate) then we had the patry with all the princesses, followed by a party with hubby's family, then a party with my family at my grandmothers...Phew... many parties later and I think I have decided she's caught up until her 10 th birthday... So see you guys in 5 years...

Tour Thru the Scotland Highlands

2008-10-08T13:27:00.000-05:00

We had such a wonderful time in Scotland. We will always try to do the same kind of tours on any other overseas trips from now on. It really allowed for us to be able to go to many places in a short amount of time. My mom( http://www.ytbtravel.com/trelasonlinetravelagency )went through the hard work of setting everything up and making sure nothing was left out. It really helps that she is a travel agent and she was also there with us, so everything was perfect. We were able to go thru most of the Northern Highlands, stopping in Taynuilt, Portree, Inverness and Edinburgh for the over nights.

I have almost 3000 photos from our trip but I just fell in love with these.... More to come later...

Miss G's Pre-K Pajama Day

2008-10-08T13:20:00.000-05:00

Little Miss G was very excited today, for it was her first pajama day at school... she picked out a new pair that she just recently got for her birthday from her good friend Lucy.... She also would not let me take the photos with being able to also show off her curious george coloring book of which she is currently working on a page.

Scotland & the Nikon D 80

2008-07-10T13:38:00.001-05:00

As you all may know I am about to embark on a 9 day excursion going all over Scotland. I am uber excited and can't wait to go. Scotland infact was the reason that I bought my new camera. The last (bigger) trip I had was in May and I really enjoyed the Bahamas but I believe I would have had a better time had I known my photos would have turned out a little better. They were alright, nothing great,just alright. So I am trying my best to learn anything and everything about my new camera... Any tips would be wonderful.... Its a Nikon D 80..

Bowling at its Best

2008-07-10T11:41:00.000-05:00

2008-07-10T11:32:00.000-05:00

we went bowling and here are a couple of cute shots

Fourth of July

2008-07-09T14:29:00.001-05:00

Here are some family shots from the fourth of July,.

Sticks

2008-07-09T13:30:00.000-05:00

We had so much fun last week... we just went all around downtown and tried to find spots that she loved... she just had so much fun when she found this stick.