Once upon a time.....

Once upon a time there was a handsome prince named Cameron.

He got all dressed up and ready to go....

where else but to the...

"Jr Prom"

You know the one...its the big dance that each and every little girl and boy look forward to from the time they start school. They both dream of girls in pretty dresses, boys in dark tuxes, the fancy cars they will ride in and ALL the fun they are going to have...they dream of who they will go with, what they'll eat and where the big dance will be...

Until one day they wake up and

THE Jr. Prom has arrived...

the big day is here... no more dreaming~

Cameron was so excited to take Xela...one of his close friends, to the Prom.

He brought her to the house for some quick pictures before heading back

to the school for a nice dinner and then the "PROM"

(I thought they both looked amazing!!!)

Cameron was very careful not to let Xela stumble down the stairs!

Cam and his best friend Morgan, posing for a picture...Morgan happens to be

Xela's big brother as well~

Pictures, pictures, pictures....I think they both had seen enough of the camera

and were just ready to get on with their night...but

they were good sports and let us keep snapping shots here and there.

The two of them coming out during the "Promenade"....isn't Xela's dress gorgeous?!

She looked like a princess...

....and was even crowned the 2011 Prom Princess!

It was a wonderful time had by all and I'm actually pretty sad that its over!

I don't have any more son's that will be going to the prom...

this was the last of the boys left at home.

Kids grow up too fast...move on too quick and do it all

right under our noses!

Cam is an awesome young man and I love him to pieces....

and actually, I'm quite fond of Xela too...I've known her since she

was just a baby and think the world of her!

Cameron couldn't have picked a better date!

I'm glad that the two of them got to spend their big Prom Day together!

Party TiMe!

Babies grow up WAY TOO FAST! Although this little guy started out a VERY TINY baby boy...he's growing like a weed now. This past weekend I got to have my very first

"Grandma Weekend"

(a tradition that I plan on keeping and doing with all of my grandkids)...

a big slumber party at grandma and grandpa's house.

We had so much fun!!! Kenron was so stinkin cute and an angel the entire time...I'm not even kidding. I was a bit worried about night time and him waking up because he was someplace different., but happily he slept from 10:30 pm-8:00am....and he woke up smiling and thrilled to see me!!

I treasure him so much and the time that I get to spend with him.

He's almost 16 lbs now and has discovered his voice, jabbering and gooing

with the cutest little facial expressions to go along with his "talk".

He loves people and INDIVIDUAL attention...just like his UNCLE CAMERON~

He likes to put things in his mouth... towels, fingers, toys and FOOD!

He does some of the cutest things...awwwwh~

Sometimes I think I likes to sing and it makes me laugh right out loud, its precious!!

AND.... he has a smile that completely melts my heart every single time!!!!

What a Doll!

I love this little guy and am thrilled to be his grammy!

Cinderella learned a lesson~

Cleaning is something that I enjoy...I know, its a tad bit weird, but thats okay- I've never claimed to be normal. Sometimes I don't like the "every day cleaning" like the laundry, the dishes, the tidying up...only because it doesn't stay looking nice for very long (an hour...maybe) but I love to DEEP clean. I love the scrubbing of grime, the wiping down of dust and cobwebs and the organizing part of it. I love the feeling I get when I get to look at things all put neatly in a row, stacked and in order. I like the clean smell, the polished look and the feeling of accomplishment. I love that I get to enjoy it day in and day out...and its especially nice when I know its going to remain "CLEAN" for a long period of time.

A few weeks ago I decided to dive into a few of my cupboards for some DEEP CLEANING. They were at the "HAVE TO CLEAN POINT"... opening the cupboard doors had become something that we all dreaded to do because it was to the point of "OPEN at your own risk", as things "may or may not" come tumbling out onto you. I had been wanting to get some really cool clear plastic jars with nice screw on lids to put all of my spices, sugars and baking goods in. I saw some fancy ones on a craft blog with some awesome vinyl lettering on them (I LOOVVVVED THEM)... telling whats inside (yes, even though you can SEE through the clear plastic, very UP TO DATE and cool)...BUT never found them within my price range (FREE). So I put off my organization task for...hmmmmm lets see..... YEARS! FINALLY, I decided that its ridiculous for me to put money into something that- FIRST of ALL, NO ONE but me will see and- SECOND OF ALL when I would rather spend that money else where...like on stuff to FILL THE JARS. SO...I got resourceful and used all of those empty plastic containers from my cottage cheese, yogurt and sour cream that I had sitting about in my "Tupperware/Gladware" cupboard. I labeled each container with some good ol' pieces of white scrap paper and wrote the contents with a sharpie marker. I know, its been done for years...I'm not the first to think of such an ingenious idea...but in a world where being "cheap" is often frowned upon unless you can be cool and hip about it, I thought I would do it anyway... and thats what makes it so fantastic. I did it and didn't care that it wasn't expensive or cool. My project turned out great, I accomplished the task I had set out to do...everything is tidy and neat up in my cupboard and I don't get pounded with bags of powdered sugar and walnuts every time I open the cupboard doors. That was the purpose in WHY I wanted to organize and clean the cupboards out anyway, it wasn't about having fancy looking content jars (okay...at first it was, but then I figured out the real purpose in my cleaning escapade). I just lost focus for a short time--glad I was industrious and used what I had. I do have to say it looks pretty nice when I open up the cupboards and I can see what I have, (even though at first glance someone might think I am stocking up on dairy products and storing them in the wrong spot). I can open a container,use its content and put it back in nicely without having to "hurry and shut the doors" before it comes barreling down on me.

They aren't exactly COOL "Martha Stewart" containers...but hey, they serve their purpose the same as the fancy ones...and they were FREE and that was right up my alley!

Moral of my story..."Cool is AS COOL DOES!"

My containers are pretty "COOL" because they do what I need them

to do and didn't cost me a penny...

and thats pretty "cool" to me!

It's in the BLOOD!

Years ago when I took Cameron to one of his MANY ER visits-- for one of his MANY injuries, the Doctor was doing an x-ray of his arm. He was looking at the film to check for breaks and fractures...he asked how old Cameron was--I think at the time he was 11-12...the doctor then let out a little chuckle and said, "This boy is going to be your biggest son yet." Looking at his growth plates, the doctor could see that Cam still a lot of growing to be done. At the time, Todd and Erik were 6'4 and 6'5 (give or take a little, I don't remember for sure, but somewhere around there). I didn't think there was any way that Cam would ever be taller than his brothers. BUT as the years have come and gone, Cam has continued to grow bigger and bigger...always measuring bigger than his brother's did during their high school years, always taller, always out weighing them...but for some reason I thought Cam would stop growing before he past them up. GUESS I should have listened better to the Doctor, Cam is now a junior and has officially past Erik up. Erik has been the tallest of the boys for several years now, but only by 1/2" or so (taller than Todd)....but no more...Cam has Erik by more than 1/2"...and he's STILL GROWING!! Guess our kids come by it naturally, having 2 TALL parents and many tall uncles and aunts....BUT~

IT still leaves me to wonder~

HOW TALL WILL THIS BOY GET?!

Only time will tell~

The "Little Red Cup"...

I'm "older"...old enough anyway, but this cup...I THINK might even be older than me. At first glance you might think that this "Little Red Cup" is just an ordinary cup...a washed out red, marked up from small children scraping their teeth on its sides, and made from a thin plastic... but don't let its distressed looks deceive you...its got a long history and many stories to tell. I was first introduced to this cup as it sat by the sink at my Grandparents house. It was the "community cup". When we went to visit Grandma and Grandpa and needed a drink, this is the cup we drank out of...ALL OF US. It was unheard of to reach in the cupboard for a clean, pretty cup, we all used the community cup...it was just the way it was. It prevented a pile of cups from having to be washed, and regardless of who you were... man, woman or child...this is the cup that you filled to quench your thirst with. The "Little Red Cup" was stability, it was comfort, it was the norm...and it was what you did at Grandma and Grandpa's. THEN one day I went to Grandma and Grandpa's to find the cup was gone. It was put away, up in the cupboard with all of the rest of the cups and there in its place was a NEW cup. YES, the new cup was in better shape, it was made from a sturdier, thicker plastic. It was a little bigger and was a pretty bright YELLOW, but I missed the cute "Little Red Cup". It was what I had grown up with and it didn't seem right to have it nestled away in the cupboard. But thats where it now resided.

"Little Red Cup" had many other responsibilities besides sitting by the side of the sink...it (along with a few of its brother and sister cups) was also used to serve orange or grape juice to all of the grandchildren as Grandpa made his famous breakfast of "Eggs, fresh side bacon and toast". I remember Grandpa pouring cold juice into my "Little Red Cup", as I held it firm and still, as to not spill it's content. For some reason the juice served in "Little Red Cup" always tasted better than when it was served in any other cup. After growing up and returning to visit my sweet grandparents, I always pulled "Little Red Cup" down from the cupboard and had a glass of juice from the sweet red plastic cup. It made me feel like a kid again.

When Grandpa and Grandma passed away, my dad asked me if there was anything of theirs that I wanted. I really couldn't think of anything...I just wanted something that reminded me of them. I didn't want their couch, I didn't went the bedroom set, I didn't want the TV...I'm more sentimental and hold onto things that have history or memories for me. Thats when I told Dad that I would love to have the "Little Red Cups" from the kitchen cupboard. Dad said that he would see what he could do. I was thrilled when he showed up with 2 of the "Little Red Cups". I don't know what happened to the rest of the collection nor do I care...I was just happy to get the 2 that I did. No, I don't have them sitting by my sink as a community cup. I think that the "community cup" theory died with Grandma and Grandpa's generation...but I do drink juice from them periodically, but mostly I pull them down and look at them and enjoy all the wonderful memories they bring back. I am hoping as my grandchildren grow up and pay many visits here in my home that I can give them the same kind of love, stability and comfort that my grandparents and the "Little Red Cup" gave me.

A little CLaSS!

I have had so much fun making these adorable rosettes....I wear them with everything, on my scarves, hanging from my beaded necklace and pinned on my cardigans. They are so classy and just as fun to wear as they are to make. I have several other swatches of fabric that are just waiting for me to find a few minutes to make them into beautiful flower pins as well....

I love free time...just wished I had a little bit more of it.

Wearing an Original!....who would have thought!?

Just an average oatmeal colored cardigan?......I think not.

With a little "creativity" and a few hours of time I made it and Original!

I saw a cardigan similar to this one in a catalog, but for about double the price of what I paid for mine. I added the cute ruffle and rosettes on top and WALAAAAaaaa...its

and...A One OF a KiND, no one but ME has a cardigan like this one...

And I love it...I wished I had bought more of these simple cardigans when I had the chance,

but in different colors...

just think of the possibilities...hmmmm...I might just have to pick up a few more anyway!