kellicrowe

member dis?

"Member how we did dis, Mo-ommy?"
Max squishes up his nose and sticks his tongue out to the left.
No.
No I do not member how we did dat.
Maybe because the lad just made it up.
All day long.
"Hey Mo-ommy...member how we did dis?"
Max standing on one foot.
Ahhh, yes. Those were good times.
One thing Max actually did do that we can member together is he rode the train at Disney. That would be him leaning out of the window of the train...against the conductors instructions.
He really really really didn't want to get off that train. Or the tram.
This kid loves trains.
Transportation, really.
Now he is into "memeber we are going to ride a train, Mo-ommy?"
Like if we just talk about it enough it will be true.

Hey.
I almost made a political joke and I didn't.
It was funny, though.
(I am feeling snippy after watching Will & Grace tonight.)

Back at the ranch, Max just says this to me and looks so hopeful. Then he wants to nail down the plans of when we are riding a train again.
I wonder if Marta...Atlanta's public shuttle/subway system...will appease him?
I doubt it.
Maybe I could try this member stuff out.
"Yeah, honey, member you were going to make dinner?"
Member?
Or, in the past tense, as Max likes to do when recalling something that never happened.
"Member when we had dinner already and we all did this?"
Pat tummy like all full.
Member?

Somehow I think being cute and 3 makes it better received.

Grandma (my mom) arrives tomorrow mid day.
The kids will want a count down beginning about 7:30 am as to how many minutes until she arrives.
They are going to be dissappointed with whatever answer they get except for the one announcing "she's here!"
It is lovely to dissappoint little folks so early in the morning.
Just wait until they hear they have to do school before she arrives.
Happy Friday to ya....seeing as how it is 2 am already EST.
kellicrowe

i am a puzzle

On Sat. I realized I may just be the wierdest person I know.
I am a bit of a paradox.
A puzzle, if you will.

On Sat. I was in my pantry turning all the cola cans and the canned goods the same direction. Ya know, so all the labels pointed the same way. Uniform.
I KNOW this is very crazy wife beater husband in Sleeping with the Enemy.
Got that.
But really - the guy had a good idea with this one.
The beating Julia Roberts.
BAD.
All canned goods facing the same direction.
GOOD.
So, I walk out of my pantry...satisified that I have in some way ordered the order in there a little more....and I walk into the garage.
This is the sight I saw as I looked out the door and to the left.
It looks like I drove into this pile of stuff.
Actually - no, because there is a niche that the front bumper fits nicely into. Unless you pull too far forward....then you are like..."well, we have other pool noodles....maybe it will still float even though it is flat."
Pantry all orderly and straight.
Garage...a disaster.
Where is the consistency?
Ya know - it is my inconsistency.
I am consistantly inconsistent.
I am working on the garage.
But right now, because I am working on it...I can't even park in it.
Truthfully I ask, is that better than before?

Happy Thursday to you.
Off to scrap:)
kellicrowe

Alexander the Monster

My cute monster Alexander who wants you all to know his birthday is in 9 days.
He will finally be 7...which is the age I have been telling people he is for the past few months.
The middle child.
Gotta love it when the Dr.'s office asks one of the boy's birth date.
I'm very...uuuuummm, give me a minute.
I want to say - Ya know - there are three of them for me to look at and just one computer screen for you to look at. Hows about giving me a break you just tell me when he was born?
But I do not say that. Out loud.
Alex was in the wrong class at church for about a year because I wrote down his birthday wrong one year.
Ya know it would be great to be the Mommy who always has cupcakes, can remember everyone's birthdate and has cute hair....everyday.
Oh well.
Since that is down the tubes it really frees up my schedule.

Happy Wed!
kellicrowe

ps - Heidi...you are sweet....I saw the post at 2 peas:)
pps - Lisa...I am the only person who slips on the wooden steps. But we mostly go barefoot in the house. They are slippery a little if they are dirty.

flaming astroids

Can you just casually say flaming astroids.?
Or does it, by the very nature of the subject matter, have to be Flaming Astroids!!?
Anyway - JD and I were engaged for 1.5 years. During that time, many people very generously hosted parties and showers for us. On of parties was at my Mom's friend's home. Deb hosted it and gave us a lovely journal. In it, she had all the married couples there write down some marriage advice for us.
I kept it.
It made it through 12 years.
Several military moves.
Through several states.
But it didn't make it past David. Nope. Any book, tablet or notebook he sees becomes his next creation.
I found this journal with the advice ripped out and these illustrations.
I really like what he has going on with the cover.
There was a sunflower. He turned it into a sunflower monster who eats those helpless stick figure guys. Note the stick guy on the skateboard.
Never fear...the air planes are rat-atat-tatting the flower's head.
Inside...hey, a nice story about space.
There is a picture of a satellite and Earth.
Now the astronaut is fixing the broken satellite.
Flaming Astroids!!

The moral of this is that people can give you all the advice to fill a book...but no one can really prepare you for flaming astroids.

Happy Tuesday to ya!
kellicrowe

gotttta scraaaaaaap

Gottttaaaaa scraaaaaaap
gotttttaaaa siiiinnnnnnnng
gotttttaaa dannnce

I am so Kelli
Ok - Gene Kelly

So, now that my musical number is over.....man, you really missed the stage portion
The flips alone were amazing
I wonder how I can hook up a camera to this thing?

Back at the ranch: So do ya gotta ever just scrap?
Like need to scrap?
Have to scrap?

I am realizing there are two reasons why I feel this way.

[Aside - I don't have the need to keep up with the rate with which I take pictures. So I don't have that to deal with. I have 3 boys. One day they will all leave me. But I am gonna be so far behind on scrapping pics - it will be ok. I will have their little faces to look at each day. And they will come home to visit...after we have lured them home with cash prizes and trips...and I will show them the pics I just scrapped of them potty training.]

So reason 1 I need to scrap: the release of it all.
Man - just playing, creating and finishing something (that is huge) is so refreshing
Reason 2 I need to scrap: getting rid of the mental clutter.

You heard me Mental Clutter.
You get this?
Ideas floating around in you head.
Inspired by you kid's legos all the sudden and ya keep thinking of this LO but you put it off?
See, I do this. And it weighs on me. Like knowing the house is out of control and I have a bazillion things to do. Yeah - my brain gets that way. Knowing I have a bazillion things to plan. Like fun things - birthday, Lo's, a baby shower. But then the fun things start weighing me down...like clutter. Clutter isn't fun and sucks the life out of things that should be fun.

So, I set aside time each day for those creative things that get pushed back.
It isn't much - but just setting aside time to write down those ideas for a baby shower I am hosting in Nov helped so much. Put my note in a file folder. I am going to do it with scrapbooking tomorrow afternoon. Just to get those ideas out of my head and into a safe place. Haha. My head isn't a safe place:)

Anyway - scrapbooking to avoid brain clutter. It is a good thing.

Man, reading this back...I am sounding weird(er).

About the Lo - Just one inspired by this vase that I think I ripped out of a Storehouse cat...maybe Crate and Barrell. Who knows. But I did neeeeeed to scrap it. The pic is by my friend Holly.
Yes - it is with the circle punch and not the computer. (Circle punch, then hand cut around and then inked - so easy I did it while watching tv.) Thanks for redirecting my to my roots Lisa and Kristy:)
kellicrowe

I am no Rhonna

Let's just pretend Lyod Benson is saying this to Dan Quayle during the whatever-year-it-was Vice Presidental Debate

"I know Rhonna Farrer.
I am a friend of Rhonna Farrer.
I worked with Rhonna Farrer.
You are no Rhonna Farrer."

OK - so they were in a debate and Rhonna's name really didn't come up. (It was JFK and in past tense- in case you aren't into the politics like I am...which, let us remember, is like People Magazine version of politics)

Well, aside from checking my driver's license, I had a huge awakening this weekend as to the not being Rhonna. I tried to do some things on the COMPUTER. Like scrapishie kinds of things. And, apparently, the PhotoShop for Dummies needs to be dumbed down a little more.

Like - do they have a Photoshop for pre-schoolers? I could maybe follow that.
OR - Ya know what I can follow? Those picture directions that Lego makes for each of the kits you buy. Yes, I rock at building stuff for ages 7 and up.

Rock, I tell ya.

I am not giving up. I think I may need a class, though.

Anyway - I am adding Rhonna Farrer's blog to the list of links. She has some pretty cool info on there on how to do computerishie things with scrapping.

However...upon trying to change all blog titles to the people's names who write them (wanting to make sure you know where you are going when you link to someplace from here) I have delated them and started over and now....my list will not appear on the sidebar.

Dude...I'm not even Elmer Fudd on the computer.

SO - when the list re-appears on the side....someday.....check out (Raw-na Fair-er)'s blog. Helpful stuff.

And if your Blog was on there and isn't anymore - I am getting around to finding all those links again. No cuts have been made:) I know - HUGE sigh of relief in your life.

HUGE.

kellicrowe....properly named....kellicrowe

(which kelli actually means "first things last"...sheds a little light on the computer thing.
*OR* kelli means "warrier maiden" Nice. Real nice. Like Kelli the Viking. Yeah. Even more light on my issues with technology.)

banner day

So yest was my banner day...got that niffty banner up there. 

Ya know...it just doesn't seem to fill the space like everyone else's.

I don't know how to fix it...but I do not plan on working on it until Sat maybe...my Fri is slammed.

SOOOOO, until then I have an idea.

If everyone would just draw in some legs and a cape for me...that would be super.

Haha.

Yes - SUPER.

I am gonna suggest a dry erase marker for this instead of a sharpie....ya know, because eventually I will have the whole picture up there and you are gonna want to remove the lines.

Yeah...cause that is what this place needs...more pictures of me.

Hope you all have a great Friday.

kellicrowe

come on in, the water is fine

Man.
I remember that feeling of standing on the side of the pool
Getting ready
ready
ready
one
two threeeeenowait!

That jumping in thing was tough for me.
I am still not a good diver.
Something about throwing my body at anything...even water....just doesn't seem like solid planning to me.
As my Max would say, "member that?"
I remember that feeling of jumping into the pool to my Mom's arms.
There was such a thrill when it was done.
And now it's me.
I'm the one in the pool.
I am the one saying you can trust me.
I will not move.
Promise.
Now
one
two
three!
As much as I love being the one in the pool, catching those out stretched arms....I wonder sometimes how I got here.
Like, I remember it all and I was there for it all...but yet "it all" still surprises me.
How did it get to be the one in the pool with the support and the confidence and the patience and answers and the strength? I am sure glad I didn't have to take a test to get here.
"Everyone may continue to the next phase....um Kelli....can we see you after class for just a moment?"
Gulp.
My boys, David and Alex, and I had a lovely little chat about God and Jesus tonight. I know, I am so slacking on explaining the Holy Spirit. Anyway, the kids are getting to where they ask questions about death, living forever, asking God for things...like to live forever.
David said he wanted God to talk to him so he could ask him to make his family live forever. He said even you. Meaning me. Gee, thanks. Someone has got to do the laundry in forever - right:)
Alex said that Jesus dying for our sins "sure was nice of him."
Kids.
There was lots of conversation before, during and after these comments.

Abbie took this picture of Alex standing on the side of the pool this summer.
I just love it.
I think I will do some journaling on a lo for it.
Maybe a letter to Alex.
How I am in the pool for him.
But if there is ever a time I can't be there to catch him, it is still gonna be ok.
Because God will.
Promise.

kellicrowe

what i learned at disney

What I learned, remember and wanna forget:)

1. the happiest place on earth...isn't the happiest for everyone all at the same time
2. my kids have no reference for Disney characters because they are not into any Disney movie that pre-dates Toy Story
3. the most benign ride can terrify my 3 year old if it gets dark at any point....they all get dark.
4. 6 year olds drive like 6 year olds if you let them stear at the grand prix
5. gas is cheaper in Orlando than in GA
6. put sunscreen on your head, esp. in your part
7. food= you get what you pay for...there is some fab food down there and ya just need to pony up and pay for it
8. in every park, you have the opportunity to get wet
9. you will want to get wet b/c it is hot
10. heat is the equalizer at Disney...no one looks fantastic there after 6 hours of walking around
11. you can feel nostalgic and child like there even if you never went as a kid
12. the strollers you rent there are great
13. the parade ain't every night
14. the fireworks show is fantastic
15. Circ de Sole (la Nuba) is really amazing and as long as they have popcorn, even the kids loved it
16. Wolfgang Puck's Cafe is super
17. Discovery Cove is expensive - but has an amazing Hawaiian resort vibe, not a lot of people and super food
18. swimming with a dolphin is cool, so is snorkeling with rays (unless you are me)
19. always build your trips around locating a huge Lego store
20. the Magic Kingdom is magical
21. "It's a Small World After All" isn't the worst song that can get stuck in your head
22. if you go in mid Sept - the longest line we stood in was 10 minutes...but it is still humid
23. the teacups - my fave
24. don't spin your 8 year old too fast in the tea cups 'cause it may make him sick and that really dampens his afternoon
25. Max was obsessed with finding Mickey Mouse and telling him "monster truck"
26. Animal Kingdom...we could have gone on the safari and seen the Lion King performance a couple of times and then been done in 1.5 hours. Dinoland was a little Myrtle Beach for my taste.
27. every employee we met was so amazingly nice
28. Chip and Dale are not always together
29. we had so much fun
30. and a few arguments
31. and some whining
32. but it really was a lot of fun
33. even though I read 4 books about going - nothing prepares you for going like...going
I feel like NOW I am ready to plan a trip my kids would love to Disney

Happy Tuesday:)
kellicrowe
ps - my David and me...before I made him sick:)
He is getting his appliance taken out and put back in today during a 2 hour ordeal
I am not calling it an appointment - lets just go ahead and claim that it is an ordeal
the screw broke in his appliance
they said it has happened only once before...in the history of the practice
great - and it happens to my sensory issues kid
lovely
so that is what we are doing this morning:)

not exactly flying

Ok - two thoughts going on here:
1. Can I just say that David (8) would have been just as happy to go to the Lego Store every day and hang out at the pool as going to Disney? Maybe more so. Orlando is the closest Lego store to us. Meaning - it isn't as far away as Ca...but it certainly isnt close to Atlanta at all.
Pics: The Lego wall. Pick out the pieces you want. Alex loved this. I even made a pretty little wall with some that I picked out:)
D with the T-Rex that roared and moved it's head. He thought that was cool. I am sure this will show up on his Christmas list.
Max - roamed the store with a blue lego knight's mask on.

The other thought - (I can harly believe that I remembered it)
I am not exactly flying.
Fly lady flying.
So Stacey and Shannon have inspired me with their fly lady-atitudiousness (do the work to actually say it out loud...really it is worth your time)
But not enough.
I wanna have clean zones.
But I guess I need zones first.
So I worked on the fridge today.

*(Yawn and move to another blog because this is about my fridge)*

I actually took out the shelves and drawers and cleaned them in the sink....
as oppossed to wiping them down with a baby wipe like normal.
I struggled getting them back in.
You have to do it in a certain order.
An order that seemed to allude me.
Over
and over
and over.
After 45 minutes of putting these highly breakable shelves back into the fridge
I looked casually to my right.
The door...
and all those shelves..
and condiments...
and sticky.
My next thought wasn't a pretty one.
SO, my reward for getting the main body of the fridge donw it to blog and check a few galleries at 2 peas.
Now I have done that.
If anyone needs me - I an cleaning condiment crud off the inside of the fridge door.
Blech.
Oh - and I get to pretend that I have a little girl today.
Two of the kid's friends are over this morning and Claire is my shadow.
Although she was completely not helpful when I was juggling the shelves.
But still excessively cute and girlie.
Why do I have the strong need to braid her hair?
kellicrowe

honey, i'm home!

We are home from our week long vaction in Orlando.
Disney.
Sea World.
Disocvery Cove.
Been there.
Done all that.

Here is a pic (could it be larger?...No, this is actually as big as I could make it) of David with (anyone?)
Yes - a dolphin. Smart kid to not pucker up too much with cold season right around the corner.

So I tried to blog while I was away.
Loaded pics into the draft section of typepad before I left.
But alas, I was unable to keep of the charade.

I didn't say I was going out of town because - well, it felt kinda weird to put it out there for anyone to just know...Hey, no one is at our house this week! Our neighbors were keeping an eye on the place. However, ever since they came over and asked us if we "knew" who picked the pears off their tree...I think they may not be our biggest fans.
Let me just say - we did not harvest the pears from their tree.
Pear trees grow outside.
Where do I like to stay?
Inside.
My kids are not even tall enough to reach them.
Now, it if had been a Reeses Cup tree...then I would really suspect them.
I did think it would be funny to drop off some pear preserves at their house:)
But we want them to like us...so went with not doing that.

Meanwhile...back at the ranch....
(that is kelli talk for back to the story you digressed so far away from)

We had a blast.
Not all of it was fun.
It was humid.
That is worth saying again.
It was humid.

I have pics and things to share...but right now the fam is whining about not having any food in the house and the fact that it is almost 8 pm and we haven't eaten anything....
Sometimes ya feel like there is no pleasing some folks.

And...I have to go read 8 chapters in Shephearding a Child's Heart for Bible Study Monday night.
Basically, I am ready for the "how to mute the whining without really having to work hard to do it" chapter. I scanned ahead...I didn't see it listed as a chapter....but I am still reading.
Happy Sunday.
kellicrowe
ps - hubby saved the day with grilled cheese (bread was in the freezer) and tomoto soup. [and much rejoicing was heard from the crowd. exit stage left]

nothing to see

Nothing to see here folks.  Keep moving....keep moving. 

Poor rubberie frog, he never had a chance.  And this, folks, is why we do not have any real pets.  A lot of "experiments" in the name of "science" happen around here.  I just love finding a container full of water and hair taped closed. 

"What is this?"

"Moooooom, it is a science experiment!"  Like come on, can't you see?   

Oh sure, this is clearly a science experiment.  I SEE that now.

Ok, speaking of nothing to see....I am not able to use the computer this week until Sunday.  Yep - I am using hubby's lap top....which I do not like.  I haven't even been to any blogs or 2 Peas this week.  I am gonna have a lot of catching up to do this weekend.  (I know - the Earth isn't spinning off the axis just because I am behind on my blog reading.)

So - keep moving folks - there will be nothing to see on the blog until I get back to my computer. 

Really, there isn't anything else to see.

Stop reading.  This is it.

Really:)

Happy Wed!

Kellicrowe

pig tails

pig tails

PIG tails.

Who names a little girl hair style such a thing?

This is my hair style of choice right.

Michael, who has cut and (shhh) colored my hair for 7 years would have a fit.  A FIT.

I am not very good at making them even.

But this blog isn't really about pig tails.  (Oh really because that is all you have talked about so far)

It is really about perfectionism.  I am a perfectionist...but just not so you'd know it.

I am the messiest person in my house...and 6 people live there.  If the counter is clean and one person leaves a paper on it, I will make a big deal about moving it.  Maybe even sigh as I do it.  Oh the labor.  The reason - because if one paper sits on the counter I will stack things on it.  To the cieling. 

I don't like clutter - and yet it is everywhere.

My house may be a mess.  A disaster that may cause people to want to call hotlines on me.  BUT, my closets, drawers and cabinets need to be tidy.  I am fine with a messy kitchen (close your ears fly ladies) if my pantry is orderly.  Like all food is in matching, clear and labeled containers.

I am nuts about the containers.  They have to match.  HAVE to.  I have been know to go out and get all new containers...replacing the just fine current ones...because the new kind Rubbermaid started making no longer matched the old kind.  That Rubbermaid.  Can we not just stick with the same color lid for two years in a row? 

I will put off a 20 minute clean up job for days until I can do it uninterrupted.  Then it becomes a 1 hour job because I let it go.  And I have 3 young boys...who am I kidding about uninterrupted time?

I actually enjoy the process of cleaning up a big mess.  There is a goal.  There are rewards along the way: finding something, throwing stuff our or just getting part of a large task done.  Clean space motivates me.  It empowers me.  I get inspired.  A clean craft room stays clean for like 5 minutes.  The moment I sweep up the floor as the last past of cleaning it....bam!  I have to scrap something.  HAVE to.  I can see the same thing in my kids.  Playroom is clean = have to play in newly cleaned sopt.  HAVE to. 

So maybe this isn't perfectinism.  Maybe I am a messy person who needs medication. 

Hey Cami - slap some of that Ph.D on me 'kay?

I figure as wierd as I am - I am not like that lady on Oprah with the 50 cats.   Yes, folks...that is my consolation.  I am not the 50 cat lady.  Am NOT. 

Anyone else got some wierded out perfectionist tendencies?  If not - make some up.   I'll wait here.

kellicrowe

super hero

I am not a super hero.
But I play one when I wear my new super hero shirt!
So I found this link to Super Hero Designs on Ali Edward's blog: {A} in my list of blog links.
Sounds fun. I checked it out. (you can get there via her blog) I totally dig their cool style and fun blog. I bought a super hero shirt for my sister's 21st b-day a few weeks ago.
(My MUCH younger sister, Sara).
I scooped up one for mom and me too - knowing how much Sara would "love" to match us:)
Now, it arrives quickly in this bag addressed "to the amazing Kelli Crowe."
I think - they have never met me...how did they know I am amazing?
Spooky, I tell ya;)
SO this shirt is great for feeling empowered - like when you need that x-ray vision to see what the 8 year old boy is hidding behind his back. (Like you really need to know what....anything behind the back isn't good) OR, the lightning speed to catch the juice before it spills all over the clean table and floor.
It is also fun for flying around the house. I advise to fly low...light fixtures and spiderwebs can take the wind out of you and the fun out of flying.
However - the powers do not seem to translate to leaping off the front porch in hopes of flying to pick up the mail. So, super powers work in the house. Do not expect to leap a rolling buggy with a single bound in Target. The pictures of this are just not suitable for the blog.
Anyway - it is a fun and creative blog to visit.
And they seem to have really great customer service.
Customer service is very big with me.
Bad customer service is the one thing that can make me loose it fast in public.
Ok - lets not test me on that be the "one" thing.
I made a deal with myself this year - I am gonna highlight and thank people for getting GOOD customer service instead of freaking out when people offer me less than acceptable customer service.

Thank you Super Hero Designs!
And thank you Shannon M. for reminding me with your cool blog about your t-shirt that I wanted to do one about mine:)!

when the scrap hits the fan

OR, when the scrapbook pages hit the walls or anywhere else in your house that isn't a scrapbook.
I am trying to loosen up.
Do you display your pages?
How?
Actually diplaying my pages is a big step for me.
I usually scan them and right away - put them in my all the same because they have to be that way black Scrapworks albums.
In page protectors.
Naturally.
I have these groovy pottery barn shadow box frames that I have had other stuff in for a while.
Like just pics pinned up.
The bottom frame is misc stuff from our trip up the East coast....wow, 2 years ago.
The top ones are now new lo's. It makes me happy to see the pages of my cute kids greeting me as I walk down the stairs.
I also have a new bulliten board in my craft room.
It was a great deal.
Ya know why? - it has nothing to hang it on the wall with attatched to the back. Yep.
Hubby just screwed the whole thing right into the wall.
(handy mand and scrapbooker)
House for sale with x bedrooms, x baths and 1 bulletin board.
I have a collection of mag pics and other things that make me happy to look at on here.
The thing at the bottom that is crooked.
BUGS ME.
Needs to be straight.
Those are pages from mags that I like as LO ideas for a whole page.
As we know - small items that inspire me are taped into my notebook.
It must sound like I am so into cleaning and order.
If only you could see the family room.
Better go do that instead of this.
kellicrowe

photo swap

Can I just say photo swaps always seem like a good idea but in the end - they freak me out.
I swapped with Suzanne Quillen (squillen) over at 2 peas. This is her Paige. Totally lifted it from this image in O magazine last year.
So like in the early am of this morning I went scampering....scampering I tell ya...for the computer to pull up squillen's (sorry - your user name IS your name in my head...same goes for everyone else. AND I picture the avitar that you use to be you as well. Just so ya know) gallery.
Does she even use 12x12 lo's??
Then I reviewed the e-mail she sent.
Crud.
I cut the special stuffed animal friend she was with out of the picture.
Ok...I think he is still there...but covered by bright dots.
Bottom line....Suzanne, I am never gonna know if you don't put this in your album.
Even though we live in the same state.
I am not gonna check.
AND....Cami and Heather...this is also my lo for the hand cut flower challenge.
Thanks for kicking my tail to do one.
Although,
*Ahem*
I do realize right this moment that it isn't a hand cut flower.
Got that.

In other news: I have purged and cleaned and re-organized and refolded everthing in the basement and the upstairs. I have shop vacced spider lairs in the recesses of the basement. I have lovingly re-folded those toddler t-shirts that Max will not wear because he is only into long sleeves at the moment.
Now.....on to the laundry that I ignored while working on the rest of the house. And the kitchen is looking bad. And the family room.
Ya know.
That is SO me.
To vac. up the spiders in a storage area no one ever sees and let us live in a total mess in the area we all share. AND the area I would so freak out if anyone just stopped by today.
You hear that everyone?
No just stopping by today.
AND if you do just come by - I am gonna feel compelled to show you just how clean the storage area of the basement is to off set you feeling the need to report the family room to some sort of services hot line.
And finally, my hubby made me a card that I found on my keyboard this morning.
Isn't that the sweetest?
Makes me wanna go fold all his laundry right now.
Wait a minute....maybe that was his plan all along.....
Recap: 1. photo swap
2. purging
3. hubby and i can scrapbook together now because he clearly has the skills
happy...whatever today is!
kellicrowe

feeling punchie

All men are created equal.
But not all punches.
Marvi
it has been real.
But I am doing a picture swap with Squillen at 2 peas...and I am going to need a lot of circles for this one. A lot.
It's not you.
It's me.
Ok, well....it is you...and me.
See...I am lazy.
I have to work to hard at the punches with you.
And I met....I met this whale punch.
And...well, I think this is the one.
Things are just so easy with this punch.
Ya know?
So, I am moving on.
Thanks for all the great times.
And remember
We will always have all those 2004 LO's.
Yeah
Good times.
See ya Marvi.
kellicrowe

don't forget to tag someone

Like I said, don't forget to tag someone if you were tagged by reading this blog yest!
It isn't a chain letter (OOOOOOOOOOOH how I can't stand those...I break them every time. Don't dare forward me anything like that...no matter how touching, etc it is. voo doo crap. That is what I think about them).

No, this isn't a chain letter.
It is fun.
No plague upon your houses if you don't.
No pox upon your skins.
No gimpy leg in the morning.
No dark cloud within 4 days over your home.
Nope.
None of that.
But if you don't tag someone else...then I might look bad.
And shouldn't that be our big motivating factor?

Like the GG's are sitting around and chatting about back in '05 when Elsie started that fun game of tag. Woohoo.
Good times.
How did it all end?
Oh yes - when they sent it to that kelli girl.

So tag someone.
But you don't have to:)
kellicrowe

****EDIT - Stace made a good point int he comments: How do you tag someone? You say thier name on your blog and then provide a link to it (I don't know how to do that) and then send the tagged person an e-mail to let them know of their taggedness. It sure beats the old way. Hoping the person running at you remembers a tag is a gentle tap with the hand and not a forceful shove/tackel to the ground. Yeah - don't do that to anyone. And if you do - don't tell them it is from kellicrowe.********

collections

Do you collect things?
We have quite a few collections. I like collections. I do not like clutter. (which i get how weird that is because I am the one who creates the clutter so much of the time).
I collect wooden printer's stamps. We used to look for them at flea markets on the weekends when i was a kid. I look for "K" and the "&" sign.
I collect Brian Andreas prints. Other than pics of my kids and thier art work - this is the only thing on the walls at my house. (Now - these prints are like 30 bucks - so don't think I am some collector of art. Most art that is considered "good" these days just gets on my nerves.)
Our family collects snow globes when we go somewhere on a trip all together. You have to be all together to get one. Have to. If we got one another way I wouldn't let it play on the same bookshelf as the others.
When each of the boys were born - I selected something for them to collect.
David - globes. He doesn't care a thing about them but I like they way they look all grouped together on his chest of drawers. He sellected Pez dispensers. They sure are bright and cheerful to look at - but there is no real good way to display them. He also collects street signs. There is a yield sign over his toilet and that cracks me up. We PAID money for all our signs at a store. I am stunned by the # of people whoe see them and start asking very accusing questions. PEOPLE please - do I strike you as the kind of person that would steal signs? But that is another blog.
Alex - push pets. Ya know, those things you push the bottom of and the little man or cow or whatever flops down to the floor only to spring back up. Alex selected school busses and the letter A.
Maxwell - Tin toys - mostly robots and zeplins (blimps). He tries his best to collect anything that his brothers currently have in their hands. Oh, and monster trucks.
I don't want to say I collect scrapbook supplies. I really have made an effort to either give products aways or use them. And I have been on a spending freeze since I got back from NC (ok - so that was only 2 weeks ago...but Memories keeps sending me coupons.....) of supplies.
Most of the collections are not that dear to us. Like no one is going to lure one of the kids away at the shopping mall with a globe. We seem to enjoy the process of discovery the most.
All of the collections, I noticed recently, are very Americana - 50ish feeling. Maybe because I am such a Leave it to Beaver kind of gal.
So, what do you collect?
happy sat to ya!
kellicrowe

i have been tagged

The National Wildlife Federation came by. I have been tagged. Actually - Heidi Paulus...aka HIP at 2 peas - tagged me. http://heidipaulus.typepad.com/hip/ Here is her link...but I doubt it will link correctly... and that brings us to #1 I have no intuition when it comes to computers, directions or spelling. They are all like foreign languages to me. I was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was a sophomore in college. I don't read backwards - but the info goes into my brain and sometimes it comes back out in the wrong order. So that is part of it. The other part is I am lazy and really enjoy having people do things for me. #2 Half of my life occurs inside my head where there are like 3 cd's of things playing constantly. Music, movie clips, funny things that didn't happen but if they had it sure would have been funny, scary things....not like voices....more like diff tv channels. (yeah - cause voices would be weird:) And sometimes it all clicks along and makes my head a bit of an Alice in Wonderland experience and sometimes....it is like someone pressed the "shuffle" button and things are all mixed up. I am hoping to get that shuffle button fixed. My current plan of oiling it with Dr. Pepper is working just ok. #3 I heart Dr. Pepper # 4 I scrapbook just for fun. Like it is a total release for me. I relieves stress. (Not that I have a very stressful life) So I am baffled when people get stressed about it. But I guess we all do it for diff reasons. And I am not a professional with deadlines. To me - the process of scrapping is just as great as having the finished project. I don't scrap in order either. I gotta spread out the love and supplies. Sometimes - 1988 needs a little KI. # 5 I think I have blond hair. Really. I go to the salon and get my hair dyed the natural color. See the photo. My hair was very blond until I was like 7 or 8. My eyes were also blue. Now - I am down with the hazel eyes that look greenish when I wear certain colors. My hair though, I am actually surprised when it starts looking very brown. Every time. So there you go. Of course - every blog entry has a bit in it about just how random I truly am. Now - who to tag?......If you read this blog on Friday, Sept. 2 ...consider yourself tagged. (I can so do this because I have seen other bloggie ladies tagging people by the handful.) In the comments - just let me know so I can come and see just how random you are. AND - if you don't have a blog - feel free to list your randomness here. This is a SAFE place for random. Trust me. Thanks Mz. Heidi!! YOU are the rock star! kellicrowe

get your heidi

with heidi tape or without with the tape or.... hmmmm...... pressed the tape down a bit too much now it is stuck ok - with the tape it is!! My David. Mr. cool. This LO is called 2 cool 4 school. (literally in our case:) He wore this a week ago. I don't remember where we were going...but it called for an outfit. And the toboggan - it doesn't have to be cold out to wear one of those. And don't try to be cute and call it a lid. He looks at you like you are slow and says "It is a hat." He was always always always the kid who wore costumes. For like 2 years - he wore them everyday everywhere we went. I would forget that he had on a Darth Maul (minus the mask) costume until people kinda followed us with their eyes thru Chick-fil-A wondering just who the grim reaper looking kid was gonna sit next to.... Then well meaning adults would look at him and ask him who he was or say something like "Wow, Superman, you sure look strong." David would always say, "I'm David Crowe." Like DUH. Like come one people - it is a costume and I am a real boy under here. He is pretty logical. Irony & sarcasm are lost on him. Ok - so I heave read the 1st chapter of Heidi's book and done my first practice lessons. 1st - Understand that I do not even subscribe to any scrap mags any more. I love to look at them - but I am trying to get into my own ideas instead of always thinking I am stealing someone else's. So - having said that...here is what I think about the book so far. I totally like it - but I think any idea book is super to get and share with others. I mean - the pages are not gonna look different in 2 months. 2nd - I do really like the book. Love her style. I really like the fact the idea isn't to learn to write just like her. It is to develop you own font based on the diff ways you write. Like she gives you maybe 12 lines and asks you to write long, cursive, short, print, write hard, write in pen, etc. to see what your personal fonts are. It was fun - b/c I write very differently depending on what I am doing. 3rd - I am now in search of a great white pen. Where can I find one of these? Any that I have ever tried seem to need me to write over the letter like 5 times...by then it is all messy. My next assignment is writing diff ways in text boxes. And to do a font search around the house to see the diff ways I write. My calendar - which I look at every day and I keep for years later to let me know where I was on April 12th 2001 - is a total mess. I like to write with Bic pens -blue. No pencil - ick. Mechanical is ok. But a smooth Bic pen - the kind you buy like in a 20 pack. Oh yeah. Skin-a-ma-INKY-dink. BUT - I have to mark out stuff in the cal. a lot because it is ink = messy. Now - a list of things to do for the day - I may re-write that 3 times just so it looks neat. I will even re-write things I have already done so I can draw a neat line thru them. This paper I have no plans to keep. Yet - I have spent way more time making it look nice. Oh - and it needs to be on a legal pad too. Ok -that is probably enough sharing. I wouldn't want to spill all my quirks at once. I'm the kinda person ya gotta ease into knowing. Otherwise it can all be loud and overwhelming. So recap: I am keeping the tape and the Heidi book is delightful. kellicrowe

do not drive

"Do not drive unless you have to" "Conserve gas" I try my best not to drive unless I have to most days. I actually do not like driving.

1) I have no sense of direction. So getting lost is something I do well and often. It is a pretty cruddy feeling.

2) I just don't like the driving part. I get bored. I get antsy. I get distracted. There is never anything good on the radio.

AND - could there BE more commercials on talk radio? So - here we stay at home. We don't have anywhere to go. We have a full tank of gas. And groceries. We are good to go. Or not go...rather:)

Conserving gas seems like such a little request considering what so many people are going thru right now.

So while I am at home - I am breaking in my new tennis shoes. Mom said I needed THESE. I got them. Then she said I need to wear them around the house to break them in. I do not normally wear shoes in my house. None of us do. But I really hate to ask people to take off their shoes. Instead - I just try really hard not to blurt out... "You are getting public bathroom filth and gas station look all over my rug right where we like to sit and play Uno!"

So far I haven't actually yelled at anyone. Deep breaths seem to work. Shoes are worse than library books. But these shoes have never been worn out of doors. They still got the clean on 'em. So they are ok inside.

Oh, the other thing Mom mentioned was that these shoes exercise my feet. (Good thing b/c they have just been so flabby since my last baby:) (Yes Mom, I am being a total smart aleck....but wait, there is more) So - I ask if these shoes will exercise my feet while I sit on the sofa, watch Rock Star INXS and eat salt and vinigar chips. She said no. You gotta be doing something. 'Kay...but if I am doing something - then shouldn't I get credit for the exercising of my feet?

Kelli Fun Fact: My feet are two different sizes. A pudgy one that is size 5 (yes....that would be a child size shoe) and the other is leaner (clearly having exercised more) and 5 1/2. They said I would grow out of it. I guess they were assuming I would continue to grow.

The kids did their lessons well today. I cleaned out the classroom and all of our craft stuff. The rest of the house looks worse. But I am only 1 person. AND I have been breaking in these shoes all day. I am wiped.

Alex to Max today while playing - "Max if you want to get to Victory, you have to cross the bridge." So true. Victory is very often on the other side of a scary bridge.  

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