The Fenton Four

English Muffin Pizzas:: Recipie

2011-01-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week, I made this fun staple in our house. The kids enjoy helping me make this and it yummy too!

It's pretty self explanatory but I thought I'd share, just in case!
All you need is:
English Muffins
Pizza Sauce
Topping(s) of your choice
Mozzerella Cheese

I like the crispy taste of the muffins when I'm easy (as opposed to the soft texture) so I toast the muffins before I put them in the oven:

Once they are all toasted, I spread over the pizza sauce:

Add the cheese:

Add my toppings (I just chopped up some olives):

Once your pizzas are ready, place them on one of the tops racks in your oven, be sure to set the oven on BROIL so the cheese melts first!

Once the cheese is all melted, you're done!

Enjoy!

Is Beauty School In Our Future?::

2011-01-28T10:52:00.000-08:00

Norah decided it was time for a change in her hair, she took measures into her own hands and gave herself some bangs!! I'm so thankful it wasn't as bad as it could have been...I actually think she did an decent job! (phew...) we will head over to a salon today to even things up!

Take a look for yourself...

Weekly Menu Board::

2011-01-26T10:13:00.000-08:00

Like I said in my last post, I was feeling a little crafty this weekend, so when I saw this from my friend Michelle, I knew I had to do it as well!

I'm all about simplicity so the only things required for this are:

12x12 or 8x10 frame
(I chose 8x10 only because I wanted a thicker frame and the only 12x12 frames I could find were really thin)

scrapbook paper

white board marker

Once you've gathered that stuff, go pick out a cute font you like, I like this site..as well as this one

When you have a font you'd like to use, go to your preferred program to design your page (Word, Open Office, Photoshop) and type out what you'd like..

Mine was pretty basic

"Weekly Menu"

Sunday:

Monday:

Tuesday

ect...

Now print it out!

To add a little flare, I punched out the edges with this:

Once, that was done, I used some double stick tape to attach the menu form to the piece of scrapbook paper I had chosen.

Go ahead and put it in your frame and you're good to go!

...I picked up at 4 pack or markers at Target

Here's how mine turned out..

Since I had a few people ask about some of the recipes, I have been taking pictures and will start posting the those tomorrow!

Enjoy!

{Muffin Tin Monday}

2011-01-25T21:34:00.000-08:00

My good friends Amy and Colleen, introduced me to this fun idea awhile back, and this weekend I was feeling a bit creative..I'm wondering if it's because I spent the weekend home sick and decided to clean out my craft closet..hmm.

...anyways, it was super simple! We went to Target and picked up (2) silicone muffin tins, because I wanted colored trays, and well, you can't really beat 2.50 each. I grabbed some ribbon, decorated them a little and viola!

The hardest part is thinking up different types of food...we went out to lunch with Steve so I got off easy, I only had to plan for breakfast and dinner :)

For breakfast I chose:
Gummy Vitamin
Yogurt
Granola Bar
Raisins
Waffles
Cereal

..and for dinner I did:
Jello
Spinach salad
Mac n' Cheese
Olives
Mandarin Oranges
..and a special cookie!

...but thanks to my friend, Jen she told me about this gal, who is the official "Muffin Tin Mom"...she even has themes each week! I am way impressed..and can't wait to try some of her concoctions!

Oh, and case you're wondering, I got the cookies at The Cake Studio in Tacoma at the Freighthouse Square! ...the best cake you will ever find! It's where we got our wedding cake and we visit a couple times a year to pick up a couple slices of what we ate on our special day! I highly reccomded the pink tea cake (slice) you'll be in heaven, seriously.

I digress...

anyways, here is what my muffin tins ended up looking like! {see above}

I'd love to hear of any other helpful tips or fun food ideas for "Muffin Tin Monday!"

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!::

2010-07-22T09:32:00.001-07:00

(42 weeks pregnant, delivery day 7.22.08)
8lbs 14oz 21" long

Today my little Norah turns 2! I can hardly believe how fast these last 2 years have flown by! It seems like just yesterday I was in the hospital with you! I still remember how happy I was that you decided to blessed me with an easy labor and I was given the VBAC I had so hoped for! You have such a fun and feisty little personality that radiates wherever you are, and a gracious heart full of love. We love you so much and thank our awesome God for bringing you into our lives!

Here are some of your favorite things!
-You love to dress up (I think you must go through at least 4 outfit changes a day!)

-Coincidentally, you also love going to the mall with Mommy! Target is your favorite store! (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!)

-Baby dolls, you're going to be a wonderful mommy someday it's so cute to see you take such good care of your "babies" you will bounce them and pat their backs while saying "It's ok baby, its ok" its adorable!

-You love to "swing high" on our play set in the backyard

- Sing! Right now you can sing most of the words to "Jesus Loves Me" "The ABC's" and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" ....you *think* you know the words to Justin Beiber's "Baby, Baby" but we're still working on that one ;)

-You equally enjoy dancing and we've been known to have quite a few dance parties throughout the day, weather it be in the house or in the car!

-You also love talking on the phone! You have made more than 1 phone call (on your own) to both Grandmas! Thankfully, they love it when you give them a ring!

{1 year old 7.22.09}

{I'm 2 now, watch out!}

xoxoxo,
Mommy, Daddy and Jacob!

Norah Turns 2:: Celebration!!

2010-07-14T12:24:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday, we celebrated the 2nd birthday of Miss Norah Kate! I finally decided on a theme (bright colors/rainbows) a couple months ago and had such a fun time planning for her big day! It wasn't too hard to find decorations and ideas because with summer in full force, all the stores had exactly what I needed! Unfortunately, time ran out, and I was unable to decorate with everything I had bought, but nevertheless, it was a huge success!!

I am going to try and link up everyone who helped me make the party what it was, so if you have any questions about anything below, you should be able to go directly to their web page! If not, just shoot me a message and I can help you out!

Rae at "A R M O M M Y" designed this amazing invitation for me...

(this is the picture we printed on the backside)

my amazingly talented friend Angie created these labels, they matched just perfectly!

Jonah from "Maluhia" came up with these awesome (and reusable gift bags!)

Jessica over at "Kuntry Girl Flower Farm" sent over this beautiful arrangement for Norah Saturday morning!

Katie D. made these DELICIOUS sugar cookies! (Everyone told me how much they enjoyed these)

We were also very pleased with the giant bouncy house from Topsy Turvy Bouncers they were at our house early to set up and even let us keep it for a little longer, they were very professional and we plan to use them again!

Rainbow fruit tray...yummy!

My good friend Brie spent an evening with me and helped me make this color banner (made with a Cricut Expression)

Frames purchased at Marshalls

Lollipops purchased at Party City

Silly straws purchased at Old Navy and Party City

these were hanging (at one point, lol)

...thank you to everyone who helped in celebrating Miss Norah on her special day :)

The Big Picture.

2010-06-04T00:23:00.000-07:00

I came across these startling images today and felt the need to share with you all how badly these animals are also being effected by the oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. I really hope this gets taken care of immediately and that those who are found responsible for this are punished. This is so sad....

To view the entire story go here

Best. Alfredo. Ever.

2010-06-02T22:21:00.001-07:00

My good friend Angela has made this a couple times in the past for us when we've gone over for dinner. I finally asked for the recipie and gave it a try tonight..if you know me, I don't like to cook nor do I do it very well, when I saw there were just a handful of ingredients I figured I couldn't mess it up too badly :)

Anyhoots, it was super easy and fairly quick! Steve was impressed and it did the trick of filling him up, which can be hard to do :)

I had a few people ask for the recipe so here it is:

Ingredients:

Garlic Salt

Heavy Cream

8oz cream cheese

1/2 stick butter

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

melt the 1/2 stick of butter
once the butter is melted add the cream cheese (cubed so it melts faster)
after the cheese was melted, I added the 1 C of heavy cream
stir to blend
add the 1/3C cheese
sprinkle in garlic salt

and you're good to go!

I used these noodles:

let me know what you think!
(Thank you Angela :)

I need a facelift

2010-04-09T17:10:00.001-07:00

On my blog that is, maybe it will get me posting more often! Apologies for being a huge slacker lately, but I promise I have a bunch of photos coming soon to make up for the delay! In the meantime Im trying to win a new blog makeover from Studio M Designs! If you'd like to enter your blog into the drawing you can do so here!

Rainbow Cupcakes:: Happy St. Patricks Day!

2010-03-17T21:19:00.001-07:00

In order to get a jump start on St Patrick's Day, I thought it would be fun for Jacob and I to make these creative and colorful cupcakes I saw online the other day. Who doesn't like a cupcake every now and then? :) Besides, they only required 3 ingredients, not bad.

All you need is:
Whip cream
plain white cake mix (oil, water, 3 eggs)
food coloring (red, yellow, blue, green)

we started out by mixing up the cake batter

first with the water...

then the oil

...finished with the eggs

I then seperated the batter into 6 different bowls. (Pampered Chef has a great set of 6 glass bowls that worked perfectly for this!)

random picture.

From there, Jacob and I squeezed the appropriate amount of coloring into each bowl in order to create the desired color. *We mixed red/yellow for orange and red/blue for purple

now came the time consuming part
(aka, the part in which I sent Jacob into the other room to watch a show)

I took the first color (purple) and poured a little bit of batter into each cupcake mold, I had a small spoon I used to spread it out so it was covering the the entire thing.
(forgot to take a picture of this part)

I then took the next color (blue) and did the same thing, but this time, I just made sure to spread the color over the purple so it was hidden

I did this again for green, yellow, and orange.

Finally, I topped it off with red, which was probably the hardest color because I was about to overflow the cupcake pans! Make sure you dont put too much batter in, otherwise you'll run out of room!

...I put the cupcakes into the oven and cooked them as suggested on the box

once they were done, I made sure they had plenty of time to cool. This was the part where I crossed my fingers and prayed they didnt sink!

After a good 30 minutes, there were still nice and puffy!

It was a success, not only did they look cute, but they tasted amazing. So moist and soft!
We topped them off with some whipped cream and viola!

I'd suggest doing this activity with a child ages 3 and up...Jacob did great up until when I had to layer the colors, then he quickly lost interest. I didn't even try to involve Norah as she would have just dipped her fingers into the batter :\

...keep in mind, you're not going to get as many cupcakes out of this recipe as you may think. We only got 12 and I think the original said you can make 16. I think I made mine a little extra full!

Enjoy and Happy St Patrick's Day!

These boots were made for walkin'::

2009-12-15T13:55:00.001-08:00

When I came home the other night, I took off my boots and left them on the floor. I thought nothing of it until I heard the strangest sound coming down the stairs...it almost sounded like someone was falling, just very slowly. I ran to the bottom of the stairs to find this:

Jacob had found my shoes and was wearing them. It. was. hilarious! He was bound and determined to get those suckers on! I had to take a picture (you know, the one that will definitley show up at his wedding on a slide show :) Im so mean, but I have to admit, it was so cute!

*This was right before bed so he's wearing a diaper...just in case! He wears underwear during the day...

DONE!

2009-11-30T16:57:00.000-08:00

I somehow managed to blog the entire month of November, thus completing NaBloPoMo 2009
Hooray :)

Dont forget, today is the last day to enter for your chance to win 1 of 2 gifts Im giving away tomorrow! You can go here to enter, good luck!

Tragedy in Lakewood::

2009-11-29T20:52:00.000-08:00

Early this morning a city not far from where I live, was completely turned upside down. 4 police officers were tragically gunned down while catching up on work at a local coffee shop. It was an obvious ambush and the suspect fled on foot. From what it sounds like, they have a person of interest and other police agencies are coming together to find this suspect quickly.

Not only do I have friends that knew one of the officers very well, but a friend from church was working at that very coffee shop this morning. We are all praying for her...and the rest of the people that had to witness such a horrible act. I also ask that you pray for the officers familes, which combined, have 9 children. I hope justice comes to the shooter and peace will be with those affected by this tragedy.

RIP::

Tina Griswold

Ronald Owens

Mark Renninger

Greg Richards

Black Friday Fun!!:

2009-11-28T22:02:00.001-08:00

Steven and I joined in the madness yesterday day morning and woke up very early to join the hundreds of people already in line! We were successful in buying all of the doorbusters we were looking for and are so thankful for our parents who took both kids for the weekend! It made shopping so much easier and so much fun! It was as if we were back in high school, roaming the malls together like we did when we were dating! Here are most of the stores where we marked our territory!

Score!::

2009-11-26T22:04:00.000-08:00

First of all, I hope you all had a delightful Thanksgiving with the ones you love! I have so many things to be thankful for this year as Im sure we all do! I am thankful for our health and that we have yet to come down with any illnesses this year, I am also so very thankful for my husbands constant employment in an tough economy and I am so thankful for my amazing family.. not only am I blessed with wonderful parents, but awesome in laws as well! Whats even better, is that they both get along so well, which allows us to be able to do every holiday together as one! It makes is so much easier! We had a wonderful afternoon at my parents house, the food was delicious and our tummies are full. We watched football while the kids entertained us :) now, our house is quiet, Steve is putting in some recessed lights while I listen to Christmas music and make my plan of attack for the morning. Each set of grandparents took one of our kids so we could go by ourselves in the morning, such a blessing!! It looks like we've got a date with Target at 3am, wish us luck! :)

I just wanted to give anyone a heads up who was looking to go to Best Buy tommorrow morning, that I was able to get what I was looking for ONLINE..which was around 9:00pm, you might want to hurry though because I noticed things were already starting to sell out. I also got free shipping as well. So now, instead of having to wake up at 3am, I get to go to Target instead :)

Free Photobook::

2009-11-25T23:28:00.000-08:00

I have already gotten 3 of these guys tonight!

-First of all, I went here: http://www1.photoworks.com/

-Then, I uploaded the pictures I wanted to use.

-Next, I began to create a "photobook" (located on the bottom left hand side) They should be size, 8.5 x 11 I chose the "personalized cover photo book"

-Once my book was completed, I "checked out" and entered: "BONNIE" into the coupon area.

-Not only were my books free, but they even covered the cost of shipping! Both would have cost over 50.00!

*I made each book on 3 separate orders, but...I was able to do them all under 1 account.

New "do" ::

2009-11-25T00:17:00.000-08:00

Last week, I called my good friend Sheena because I was desperate to get a haircut for the holidays! Thankfully, she was also in need of family pictures so it worked out perfectly! Im pretty sure it has been almost a year since I last had it done!! Granted, Im still getting used to having short, thinner and soft hair again, but boy, do I love it! She also added some caramel and dark red streaks all over too! I dont know why I didnt do this earlier!! Here is a quick picture Steve took of me tonight...

Before::

After::

*I also have bangs, but am still "training" them to fall straight and no longer the right side, where they have been "living" the last 18 months!

Thank you so much Sheena!
(I forgot to mention that she is adorably 25 weeks pregnant and I have the honor of photographing her birth in March!!!!!)

If you'd like her phone number, just shoot me an e-mail and I'll send it your way! She works up in Enumclaw :)

The Trifecta::

2009-11-23T23:20:00.000-08:00

I have been so spoiled in the last 3 days...today, I wrapped up day 3 of my "baby extravaganza!" and couldnt go without posting a teaser of this little guy! Meet Lincoln :) this 6 week old cutie joined the D family last month in October! His mom and and dad are good friends of ours and I had a blast with them today! More pictures coming soon!

Been Busy...

2009-11-22T23:57:00.000-08:00

...but there's nothing else I'd rather be doing then spending a little time with this little angel! Have I mentioned how much I love what I do? :) My goodness, how can you not have baby fever after holding her??

Cuteness:: Sneak peak!

2009-11-21T23:56:00.000-08:00

I have to show off this little cutie! I met with her and her family today up in Buckley! It was so much fun and she did amazing! We fought through the rain and thankfully, it only lasted minutes...I am so excited to finish editing all of these but for now, I will leave you with this!

......Big Big News!!!

2009-11-21T00:43:00.000-08:00

I can't quite announce it yet, because its in the works as we speak...but it's huge!! Eeekkk!! Please pray this door opens up for me!!!

Thank you!

Back to figuring out details!!

Happy Birthday Babe!!

2009-11-20T00:03:00.000-08:00

Today (Thursday) we celebrated Steve's 29th birthday! The kids and I had a lot of fun shopping for his presents! Since Jacob went poop on the toilet again, he got to pick out another candy which made it even more exciting! We even got to pick out some fun doughnuts! We took him out to dinner at Sakuras (our favorite restaurant) and our best friends Suzie and Andy came too! It was a lot of fun and the kids managed to keep us quite entertained. Afterwards, we went to Hancock Fabrics where I found 3 adorable backgrounds for the studio all for 30.00! What mans birthday is not complete without a visit to Home Depot? (Thank you Suzie and Andy!) we bought some stuff to make my background stand tonight! My talented husband put it together in record time! Now we can check that off the list! We ended the night watching yet another great episode of "Survivor" together!

...and I seriously think that I might be the only person in my neighborhood, not at a movie theater right now :) but I am anxious to hear how the movie was! Have fun my friends :)

G'nite and Happy Birthday Steven! We love you soooo much, thank you for being such an amazing Husband and Father to your family!!

Wordless Wednesday!

2009-11-18T22:15:00.001-08:00

Jacobs 3 year picture!

Naked Norah!

zzzzzzzz......

2009-11-17T23:23:00.000-08:00

I procrastinated my post tonight; therefore, Im really sleepy and can't think straight.
Here are some highlights of the day...
Got my speed light in the mail (it was partially broken) boo!
Went to a great MOPS meeting this morning
Took some adorable pictures of miss Adelynne
Suzie and Andy came over and we played "Loaded Questions" again
Suzie brought over some delicious cookies!
(*you know I couldnt go without mentioning food in this post)

..speaking of food, I actually cooked dinner!! (That's big news in our house)

and I'll end this on that happy note!
G'nite :)

Welcome to Washington...

2009-11-16T23:23:00.001-08:00

"...try not to blow away" is what I told my uncle tonight as he arrived at our place from Mexico!

He actually lives in Alaska but spends a good chunk of time down south to stay warm. I don't blame him...he said when he left it was in the 90's but with over 90% humidity, no fun. He grew up in Seattle and is no stranger to this kind of weather, but my goodness, it sure is windy and rainy out there! My best friend Katie and her sister Kristin came by today and brought me a delicious lunch from Taco Del Mar, it was very good! I am so excited to shoot Kristin's engagement pictures at the end of the month (not to mention, the wedding in July!) We are having a lot of fun going over ideas :) after they left, I put the kids down for naps and did some housework. I got a call from my mom a few minutes later telling my my uncle was in town and wanted to take us to dinner! It was a nice surprise! He hadnt seen our new house since we moved and so we met everyone at our place to give him a tour. From there, we headed up to Black Angus where we enjoyed some amazing steak, salad, potatoes, strawberry cheesecake and more! I. must. find. a. gym. :) I feel like I just had Thanksgiving dinner. It was a great evening out with family and the kids did really good. Thankfully, they are now at the age where we can take them out in public and enjoy our meal! Its been a long time coming! :) When we got home, we put the kids to bed and watched "17 Again", we both really enjoyed it! I give it 2 thumbs up!
Anyhoots, I've got a busy day tomorrow...
Gotta get some zzzzz's while I can! :)
G'nite

Oh, what a night! (and day)

2009-11-15T23:10:00.001-08:00

I thought yesterday was busy, today was also no exception! I am exhausted. Both emotionally and physically. We all went to church this morning and it felt so good to be back! Unfortunately, I had to leave a little early for a shoot that brought me up to Kenmore! We ended up going to Lake Washington and it was stunning! I must admit, I have never been there before, and the views of the gorgeous houses on the lake blew me away! It was a bit blustery but I think we got some great shots! From Kenmore, I went back to my place just with enough time to watch the Seahawks lose in the 4th quarter (sigh) next year boys, next year.
It wasn't long after that, that I had to get ready for a long anticipated ladies night at the Sephora in Southcenter. A friend of ours was able to get the place to ourselves for the entire evening! Not only did they provide food, great music and awesome make-up artists, but they also sent us home with gift bags! Ya know..like what a celebrity attending an event would bring home? :) I wasn't sure if I was going to make it up tonight, but boy am I glad I did. I was feeling pretty low this evening after some things were said about me. I was in need of a pick me up, and thanks to some pretty special girls, I was able to forget about the necessary stresses in my life and move on! It is truly a blessing when God puts good people in your life at just the right time and I have no doubt He brought these people to me tonight! Friends lift you up and love you for who you are. I. am. so. blessed and am ready to move on and celebrate life with those who genuinely care about me.

Enough with the drama, life's too short!

I hope you all enjoy your week!!
G'nite :)

Fun Day!!

2009-11-14T22:33:00.000-08:00

The kids and I had a great time together today! Steve headed out early to spend some time with the guys from our church at a 1 day retreat. From what I was heard, the speaker was very good and the fellowship was awesome!! He even brought home a brand new basketball for winning the free throw competition they had! (Way to go honey!) While Steve was out today, I arranged some pictures with the kids at Windmill Gardens in Sumner! I am so excited to see how they turned out! From there, we went to celebrate the 1st birthday of Miss Keeley! She is special to us because her mom and dad are great friends of ours :) It was a lot of fun seeing all of our friends together again! We came home where the kids had a short nap but apparently, that's all they needed because their batteries were recharged and we were ready to hit the road again (this time Steve was home to help out!) We went to Joanns where we bought some foam and some darling fabric to create the cushion needed to complete our window seat for the studio. I really like the fabric we picked out and I'll be sure to post pictures asap! We then headed over to Target for our bi-weekly visit to stock up on a few things as well as pay a visit to the little girls clothing aisle :) I got 2 cute shirts for just 2.50 each! Whoo hoo! By the time we were done, we were all ready for some food, so we went across the street to Red Robin (mmm....) I had the most amazing fish and chips ever! I love that place, especially since we didnt have to pay for the kids food! Thanks to a good friend of ours, she gave us a stack of coupons for free Kids Meals! All in all, it was a busy day, but just as successful as it was tiring! I am looking forward to a night of relaxing and watching "17 Again"...I hope it's as good as "The Illusionist" was!

G'nite!

Detour:

2009-11-13T22:14:00.000-08:00

I decided to shift today's post over to the photo blog :)
I'll be back tomorrow for our regularly scheduled program!

I love a great deal! (and shopping)

2009-11-12T22:18:00.000-08:00

Tonight, Jacob and I went on a double date with our good friends, the Millers! It was their sons 5th birthday and we celebrated by going to The Rainforest Cafe for dinner! Norah wasnt feeling all that great so she stayed back with Steve and helped him finish my studio! We had a great evening together, and when we left, I decided to go to the Southcenter Old Navy. Right now, they are running a great promotion! Not only is all of the outerwear 50% off, but this coupon will get you 30% your entire purchase! I got Steve and Jacob some jackets, Norah a white puffy vest (lined in faux fur) a couple of long sleeve shirts to go underneath, and a couple things for a certain someones baby :) and only ended up paying 43.00 (plus tax) it would have cost me over 105.00 without the coupons! I was so pleased and rushed home to show off my new purchases :) This deal only runs through Sunday so this is your weekend to shop!

Good Luck!

Operation: Bring the "Pioneer Woman" to Washington has begun!!

2009-11-11T21:52:00.000-08:00

My friend, Amy and I are starting a campaign! We (along with most of you) love, The Pioneer Woman and want her to come to the Northwest on her Cookbook Tour. I have made a few things from it, and it always gets two thumbs up from Steve (that might also be because he just thrilled to see me cooking...but anyways!) our plan is to go visit her blog, adore her, and then leave her a comment asking her to bring her tour up to the Northwest. Then we will all head up together to meet her! Her new book is definitely on my wish list for Christmas...and I must not be the only one wanting it because she is currently #1 on the NY Times bestseller list!

Not much to report...

2009-11-10T22:26:00.000-08:00

...on the home front over here.

Had a great MOPS meeting this morning where we planned the rest of our meetings through January. I am looking forward to some great speakers, fun crafts, and an overall good time with some awesome moms.

I finally purchased the last of the "ingredients" I've been wanting in order to complete my studio. I am now the proud owner of some new little knit hats, a speed light (aka external flash), some studio lights, and a reflector. I am hopeful, that between all of that good stuff, I will be able to conquer indoor lighting. :)

I had originally hoped to go to the mall with the family tonight, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, Steve ended up getting home really late (stupid Seattle traffic) and I decided we should go when we had more time to look around. He still insisted on going out so he let me hit up Joanns for some adorable brown fabric (for shoots) I quickly realized he was wanting to get a new DVD player so we went to Wal Mart where we found a great deal on one. We both thought Sonic sounded good for dinner....at 8:30 :( so we went and picked it up for when we got home. Nothing like watching some "Biggest Loser" while chowing down on a coney dog :) oh well..

Now as I wrap this up, I wait for Steven to finish the install of our new player and then we must decide weather to watch "17 Again" or "The Illusionist" both of which, I got from our library tonight! Gotta love free movie rentals :)

To Twilight or not to Twilight...that is the question.

2009-11-09T23:43:00.000-08:00

So as you all know, Twilight has swept the nation. It seems like everyone I know that has read it, has nothing but amazing things to say about it. I only hesitate because:

a.) Im not a huge reader and b.) Its a love story
Two things that dont strike me as being too interesting...

But..with that being said, I've seen a few pictures of this so-called "Jacob" character, and he's sparked my interest :) for that reason, I am going to start reading it. I have the first book already and Im sure between the 864 friends of mine (exaggerating) that have read the books over and over again, I can find one person who isnt reading (or re-reading) the second book. From what I've heard, it's a quick read and lets hope that this "Librarians daughter"can get through it with no problems. I will keep you posted in the next few days with how it goes...wish me luck!

I wonder if this is what Jacob will look like when he gets older... I can see a few similarities? :)

(I took this picture earlier this year for my friend who shall remain nameless
...she's a tad bit obsessed! hehe)

5 things::

2009-11-08T23:50:00.000-08:00

I was tagged to list 5 things Im looking forward to this week, so here it goes

5.) checking out a few bazaars in the area to search for more props for pictures!
4.) listening to an amazing speaker at church on Wednesday night
3.) the 3 photo shoots I have this week!
2.) Going out to dinner at The Rainforest Cafe with Chris, Angela and the kids
1.) Finding out if one of my best friends has a little boy or little girl growing in her tummy!!

Now its your turn!
I tag all my wonderful blog readers to do the same thing!
Have fun and enjoy your week ahead!

Aye Aye Matey!!

2009-11-07T23:35:00.000-08:00

We have a great group of friends at church! We try and get together as much as possible, but with so many kids between us all, it can get kind of crazy! That's why we like to have "Murder Mystery" dinner parties a couple times a year! We can actually get few words in to each other and just enjoy each others fellowship! We decided to have this party close to Halloween so that we would all have an easier time finding our pirate costumes that were required. I think everyone did a great job in their attire and even though we didn't get pictures of a couple people, I think we would all agree that everyone fulfilled their characters role 100%! Here are a few pictures of the majority of us! I'm supposed to host the next dinner and am still trying to figure out a theme...any ideas? :)

The guys::

Steven and I:: (please ignore our eye patches, they weren't in position!)

Ben and Heather::

Angela and Chris::

Andy and Becky::

Jessica:: (her hubby ended up being sick that day) :(

*and Kris and Janaye got dressed before we took the pictures :( boo!

Just saw the coolest thing::

2009-11-06T23:27:00.001-08:00

A girl on a message board I am a part of just posted that a girl was going to be showing her birth live on the internet. The wannabe nurse in me checked it out right away. Unfortunately, I was late for the birth but I did get to see this new baby girl get all checked out, meet her new family members, and even got to see her eat for the first time! It was beautiful!

It did not help my baby fever at all, so I have to continuously talk myself out of getting knocked up by going back to these pictures and recalling my gigantic stomach (exhibit A):

and pushing my brains out just to get Norah to budge: (Exhibit B)

But then I see this picture:

and I'm sucked back in again!!

...so instead of wanting another baby, it really made me consider going back to nursing school. Seriously. It always has been and always will be my dream job. But for now, I will just enjoy these little newborns I get to photograph instead! Im hoping very soon, I will be able to complete my last few years of school and one day become an RN in labor in delivery! :sigh: :)

Game Night Fun::

2009-11-05T23:43:00.001-08:00

Today, the kids and I surprised Steven at work and took him to lunch at The Rock. It's by far our favorite place to go for lunch. We get an endless amount of salad, pasta, pizza and drinks for less than 20.00 total! They don't charge us for the kids and never disappoint us with the delicious types of pizza they offer (the "My Generation" is my favorite!) It made for a fun afternoon!

After naps, we took the kids to Target to pick a new board game. Every couple of weeks or so, we get together with our good friends Andy and Suzie and play games. We always have a great time and by the end of the night, my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard! Tonight was no exception, we played a rousing game of "Scene It" and ended the night with "Loaded Questions" Both games were a lot of fun! We bought "Loaded Questions" tonight and I give it 2 thumbs up! I think every household should own a copy! It gets people talking and laughing and asks questions to really get you thinking...so go out and get yours today and let me know what you think! Have fun! :)

The Doctor tickled my nose!!

2009-11-04T23:13:00.000-08:00

Today I had the pleasure of taking both kids to the Dr (insert sarcasm here)
I had no idea how I was going to be able to control both kids and keep them under control while trying to hold any sort of a conversation with the Dr. But today turned out much better than I had imagined! Jacob obeyed the nurse and did everything she asked (phew!!) She took his height and weight and asked him a few questions. It finally hit me that he is officially a little boy and no longer a baby. He answered all of the questions no problem and I was instantly taken back to when we brought him into that same room at just 5 days old. Steve and I had our new little baby and couldn't wait to show him off to the nurses! And now, 3 years later he's holding conversations and telling stories to anyone that will listen. It really makes me cherish these last few "baby" months with Norah before she's "officially" a toddler. Both kids let the Dr check them out head to toe and they found the little light quite interesting! I held my breath as they laid on their back in fear that one of them would freak out, but to my surprise they relaxed and she was done within minutes! We were able to get Jacob the h1n1 vaccine and it was really cute because once administered, he said in excitment "Mommy, the Dr tickled my nose with the water!" (it was the nasal vaccine) They were all out of the doses for Norah but I dont think she minded because she had to get 4 shots anyway. She did awesome and once I showed her a little sucker I had brought she was all smiles :) I took them both to McDonalds for lunch where they played on the big toy and tired themselves out just in time for naps!

Here are some of the stats from Jacob and Norah
Jacob
Height: 38.5" (75th percentile)
Weight: 37" (80th percentile)

Norah
Height: 31.5" (75th percentile)
Weight 26.5 lbs (90th percentile)

Birthday Boys and Milestones::

2009-11-03T22:01:00.000-08:00

This evening, Steve and I took the kids to Olympia to meet up with his family to celebrate Jacobs 3rd birthday as well as my brother in law's 32nd birthday which was just 2 days later. Unfortunately, they were unable to attend the party we had for him last Sunday, so it was our chance to catch up and enjoy a great dinner together. Jacob had a wonderful time with his cousin Serena and all of the kids had a blast watching the chef do his thing on the grill...
Norah had her first taste of shrimp tonight and I think she enjoyed it...that's got to be from Steves side because I dont do seafood :)

Here are some pictures from the night..

The Birthday Boys!

Norah with Papa John

Norah and Grandma Susy..

Mesmerized!

First shrimp!

It's so hard to get a group photo!

Jacob :)

I smell a giveaway...

2009-11-02T16:55:00.000-08:00

Here's the deal...

I make nursing covers and bibs.

I won a 50.00 gift card last week on another blog which made me feel pretty special!

I figure, its my turn to give something away..

But lets not limit it to one person..

Let's have 2 winners!

One of you will win a nursing cover and the other will win 3 bibs of their choice (I will post pictures very soon) they will look like these, but in many different patterns..

Here's how to win:

1.) "Follow" me on this blog = 1 entry
2.) "Follow" me on my photography blog =1 entry
*Yes, if you already follow me on both blogs, that's 2 entries for you!
3.) Blog about the giveaway = 2 entries
4.) Leave me a comment with your name, where you're from, and your top 3 restaurants of all time. = 1 entry

:) This will be so much fun to read and I can't wait to see your recommendations!

I will draw the name of the winners on November 30th and will announce who won on December 1st!

Good luck to everyone!

*Even if you are not breastfeeding or currently with baby, you can always save them for yourself when the time comes or give them as gifts to someone you know that could use them!!

NaBloPoMo

2009-11-01T21:19:00.000-08:00

November marks the first of 30 straight days of blogging. I did it last year and *hope* to do it again this year. You should also try and complete the challenge as well!

To start of the month, let's talk about our interesting day in the ER...

This afternoon we were to celebrate Jacobs 3rd birthday with a party at our house.
I was at the store picking up some last minute stuff while Steve was outside on the driveway sweeping up the mess from last nights trick or treaters, when he heard a loud thump and a "Daddy!!!" ...I get a phone call from him saying, "I need to take Jacob to the ER" (not the most comforting of words let me tell you!)

Jacob apparently remembered there was a piece of candy on top of my solid wood dresser and he figured since I was shopping and Steve was outside, it was the best time for him to get it. It turns out, the dresser fell and we're still not sure weather it landed on top of him or what, but his pain seemed to be focused on just a couple of fingers. Right away, Steve thought they were broken and so he called our neighbor girl to come over to watch Norah and they went to the local hospital; where I met them. The scariest thing about the day was the amount of people in the ER who looked like they were suffering from "swine flu"-like symptoms. We should have waited outside :( . Fortunately, since Jacobs injury was a "bone" issue, we were able to go to a different clinic a few doors down away from the sick people and with a much shorter wait time. Once we saw the Dr. she had Jacob do a few things with his hand and it led her to believe his finger was not broken and no x-ray would be needed. (Thank God!) She ended up just putting a little splint on his finger and said he was good to go...the best part? They were both back home in time for his party and was feeling 100% again! (phew!)

This has been a crazy, busy weekend to say the least...so tonight we are just going to relax and enjoy the rest of our evening!

{I'd better start workin' on my "twang"}

2009-09-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

Because this mama is heading to Nashville!

On Wednesday morning I will be joining thousands of other moms for an annual MOPS convention being held at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee! I am so excited and can't wait to hear some amazing and entertaining speakers as well as attend a concert Saturday night featuring Matt Redman, Matthew West, Plumb, & Natalie Grant just to name a few! The convention will include over 100 “mom resource” exhibitors, general sessions, and practical workshops ranging from grace-based parenting to creative activities for your children, and targeting many types of mothers – from busy moms to teen moms!

In case you were wondering, Mops stands for Mothers of Preschoolers and is open to any mom or soon to be mom with a child in Preschool and younger! To learn more about MOPS you can visit the home page here or to find a local group near you, go here!

{PS- I updated the photo blog today as well!}

Birthday Party Pictures::

2009-09-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

Norahs birthday party was July 25th.
Today is September 8th.
Yes, I am a little behind.

We had so much fun planning this event. With the help of some amazing friends we were able to get everything together just in the nick of time! Steves and his friends were literally helping us finish building our deck within an hour of people showing up! All of us girls, worked into the night cooking like crazy! I could not have done it without them. Thank you all for helping make Norahs day so special.

Unfortunatley, my camera was out of commission for the party so I was unable to take any pictures. Thank you Angela, Danielle, Suzie and Amy for playing photographer for the day!

Here is the sign I made::

Punch::

Italian Soda station::

BBQ and Salads::

Happy Birthday to you::

Wasted no time digging in::

That's my girl!::

Water and Juice buckets::

The Slide:: Aka 'Big Berthe'

Pink Puff Balls::

Pinata::

Gift Bags::

Made some bibs for the babies::

Some of the guests::

We had 3 different kinds of cupcakes::

Cupcake Balls::

Pretzel Sticks::

...now it's time to plan Jacobs 3rd birthday on the 26th of October!
Let the fun begin again :)
(just kidding)

Pumpkin Patch:: Mini Sessions are here!!

2009-09-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

With the fall season soon approaching, now's the time to start thinking
about those holiday photos!

Each mini-session includes:
Up to 4 people
30 minutes of shooting time
7-10 edited images on a cd for you to do whatever you'd like!
All for $50.00

Im hoping to do both a North and South south pumpkin patch if
I can get enough spots filled in.

October 10th- Spooner Farms in Orting

October 24th- TBD
(if you live up north, recommend your favorite pumpkin patch!)
*If any of these dates don't work for you, I can be flexible

I will be shooting all day so if there is a time that works best for you, I can definitely schedule you in accordingly!

(253) 720-2477
you can email me at::
Kfentonphotography@hotmail.com
for appointment times

KFentonPhotography

Two Thumbs Up:: 3D experience

2009-09-06T21:09:00.001-07:00

Steven and I were able to sneak away for a date night on Friday! We have an awesome neighbor girl who offered to take the kids off our hands for a few hours. I had figured dinner and a movie would be the plan but I took a double take when Steven asked if I needed to go to Joanns for anything. I couldnt turn him down and ended up getting some really cute fabric for 3 nursing covers! After shopping we splurged on some Black Angus for dinner..it was quite yummy! We have wanted to see "The Final Destination" for awhile now, and when we saw it was playing at our local theater we were so excited to finally be able to see it. We assumed we were going to a regular showing, but it turns out we were in store for a 3d version instead. I have never been to anything like it before and I must say, it was an awesome experience! It made the graphics so much more real and I found myself jumping more than usual. We got some pretty cool glasses to take home too :) The movie was really good but I think the 3d effects are what made it so much scarier. I highly suggest you do it at least one time just to see what Im talking about!

Are you ready??

2009-09-06T00:51:00.001-07:00

....for some Football??

You could probably tell my my favorite team is the Seattle Seahawks and I sure my husband would agree, but a very close second place would be the University of Washington, Huskies. Do you have a favorite team? It doesn't have to be football either :)

Ladies and Gentlemen:: We have an important announcement!

2009-09-04T00:10:00.001-07:00

An important milestone has been met.
Notice the little sprout on the side of her head?

...We have pigtails!!!

...now back to your regularly scheduled program :)

New Photography Blog::

2009-08-25T23:19:00.000-07:00

...so I've jumped on the photo bloggin' bandwagon!
If you're interested, you can "follow me" at
www.kfentonphotography.blogspot.com

Thanks!!

{Why didnt I think of this?}

2009-07-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

Check out this "Female Urination Device" designed specifically for the woman on the go

... pair it up with a "Vajayjay Visor"

...and your lady parts will thank you!

I don't know what I'm more excited about, the visor itself, or the fact this company is based right out of our home town of Sumner!

{Coupons Galore!}

2009-07-13T11:59:00.001-07:00

If you follow me on facebook, you'll know I have been posting some amazing deals I have found on some money saving websites. Ive gotten a few emails asking where I find them so I thought I'd share them with you today!

I strongly recommend "Google Reader"
What this does that is so handy is automatically updates you with new posts from all of the blogs you follow. I used to click on my sidebar everyday in order to see if any of my friends have posted, it took forever and most of the time the blogs stayed the same. But with google reader, it will just show you the newest and updated blog posts! Truly a timesaver!

If you dont have google reader, you can get it here

So here it goes, here are my money saving sites!

*If you have a money saving site that's not listed below, please do share! Im always looking to update my list!

Never Pay Retail Again
MamaBargains
JollyMom
Money Saving Mom
Baby Cheapskate
Deal Seeking Mom
It's Hip to Save
Freebies for Mom
Seattle Moms Deal Finder
Baby Steals
Thrifty Northwest Mom

Have fun deal shopping!!

{Shake Your Groove Thing!!}

2009-07-09T21:44:00.001-07:00

I think we've got ourselves a dancer!!

Click here to see what Im talking about...

Enjoy!

{Playing Catch-Up}

2009-07-07T22:26:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the lack of blogging. As many of you probably know, life with 2 kids under the age of 3 can be quite busy! Norah is learning how to walk and Jacob is learning how to be a big brother. By that I mean, he's become quite protective of his little "partner in crime"..er..I mean sister. When she starts to play with something of his, he is quick to run a grab a toy for her to play with. It's quite cute actually. Jacob sings the abc's at least 20 times a day so today, I finally recorded it. We're still working on L-M-N-O-P ..but other than that, I think he's got it down! We can almost count to 20 but get a little mixed up around "15" ...I figure he's still got another year until preschool so we have some time to work it out.

I have a new position in our Mops group here in Orting. I am your official "publicity" gal! I am really looking forward to what my job entails but when the words blogging, photography and outgoing personality are involved, I think I've found a good fit! We recently went on a retreat with all of the girls on the steering team and had a blast. We were able to plan out all of next year as well as form some really great friendships. I excited as to what this next year has to offer.

Steven is busier than ever. I will not complain though, because like most people, we need the money too. He worked last night as well as tonight and will also be working on Thursday. Like I said earlier, the kids keep me busy so there is really no time to sit around and be bored. God's timing is just perfect because of these extra funds, we are able to do a little bit more for Norahs 1st birthday on the 25th. We are building a deck as well as putting together a pretty cool play set given to us by our neighbors who bought a pool instead. Its been a lot of hard work removing part of our yard but we hope to be done very soon and seeing the kids play on it will be the biggest reward.

Wednesday nights have officially become our bowling nights as we bowl on a league in Puyallup with our good friends Suzie and Andy. Its been a ton of fun and I look forward to it every week! My parents come to our house and watch the kids for us so it also doubles as a great date night too!

I have been working hard on completing a scrapbook documenting Norah's 1st year. In order to do so, I need motivation; so once a week a couple girls come over to my house and we craft together. Weather it be card making, sewing, or scrapbooking, we all find something to do in order to stay busy! I just sent out Norah's birthday invites and man was it a relief to get those out! I also made some bibs for the little kids that are coming to the party and I'm just finishing a banner as well as the ongoing scrapbook project, so needless to say, I should probably be doing this more than once a week in order to get everything done...let the cramming begin!

I had to lay to rest my beloved laptop AND camera. Yup...it was a rough couple of weeks. Thankfully, my hard drive was not ruined so all of my files are still available. My camera, on the other hand is on its way to Arizona and will hopefully be fixed under warranty. We should know soon. I cant wait to get "my other baby" back! Ive got 4 friends that have just had or are about to have their babies and all have told me I can come snap a few shots of their new little bundles! I cant wait! I'd love to specialize in newborn photography one day. Steve's hoping it will cure my baby fever, unfortunately, I think it's going to do the opposite :) Im kidding! I think after this week, Im good for awhile!

Here's a recent picture of Norah in all her cuteness!
Take care :)

{Prayer for Kate}

2009-07-04T00:39:00.000-07:00

Please pray. If I didn't believe it mattered, I wouldn't ask. CLICK HERE to meet Kate and her family...and feel free to leave them your prayers and love.

{Splish Splash!}

2009-06-02T07:00:00.001-07:00

{10 Months!}

2009-05-31T23:49:00.000-07:00

My goodness, time has surely flown these last few months! I cannot believe there are only 9 weeks left until you are 1!

You have become quite the picky eater (I have no idea where you get it from either...wink, wink!) You love to fill your tummy with pears, sweet potatoes and peaches (on a good day), I cant say I blame you because I love pears too!
You've also sprouted 6 little teeth...they are so cute and I love it when you do you cheesy grin because I can see them all! (4 on top, 2 on bottom)

I am planning on taking you to the Doctor this week so we can see what that chubby little bum of yours weighs!

You love looking at faces and its hilarious to watch your face light up as you see another baby. I will even show you pictures out of a magazine and you instantly become full of excitment! Definatley a happy little girl!

You are now wearing 12 months+ I had a feeling you'd be a little bigger than average (like your brother was) so when I was shopping last summer I bought mostly 12-18 month clothing and it looks as if that size will be perfect!

We're not quite walking yet but we are mastering the art of pulling ourselves up on anything and will stand be herself for a little bit too!...I know your anxious to keep up with your big brother so I have a feeling that you will be walking pretty soon.

You sleep wonderfully and can't thank you enough for doing so...now will you send the memo on to your brother?
I usually put you down around 8-8:30pm and you'll sleep soundy until around 9-9:30am...unfortunatley for me, your older brother has a natural alarm clock that wakes every morning between 6:30 and 7am. Ugh! Its taken some getting used to, thats for sure!

I am having a blast planning your 1st birthday party! ...I can admit that I may be going a little overboard and I bet my friends are tired of hearing me talk about it, but I love anything and everything crafty and it's a blank canvas as to what I can do!
Fun times ahead!

Save the date...July 25th! Invites will be sent out soon! If I dont have your address send it to me because I dont want to forget anyone!

I've saved the best for last...
Happy 10 Month Birthday, Sweetie!

{Mothers Day}

2009-05-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

This past Mothers Day, our church held a massive child dedication :) we had both been wanting to do it for awhile so what better day than Mothers Day right? We joined quite a few families on stage which was great because in the last 3 years there has been quite the baby boom at church. It was a special day, not only because it was Mothers Day, but also because Stevens parents came in from out of town and stayed with us. They joined us, along with my parents at church and it was awesome to have both sets of Grandparents there to celebrate! After church, we all went to my mom and dads house and my mom made an amazing lunch for all of us! We had a great time together and while the kids enjoyed playing in my parents back yard, I enjoyed taking some pictures :)

{Take me out to the ballgame!}

2009-05-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, my friend Carrie gave Steven and I a pair of tickets to the Mariners game! We were thrilled and so excited to get our hands on some garlic fries :) ...the baseball part was fun too! We walked all around Safeco and played tourist. We've both been to quite a few games, but we've never really gotten the chance to explore Safeco Field. It was awesome to watch the pitchers warming up in the bullpen! Steven even tried his hand and threw a few balls. It was a perfect night for a ballgame! It would have been even better if we would have won but it's ok, there are still plenty more games to be played!

{The Zoo!}

2009-05-29T07:11:00.000-07:00

Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting up my friend Kameron and her adorable son, Blake at Owens beach in Tacoma. We are both trying to further our photography "skills" and we thought the beach would be a great place to start! From there, we took the kids to the zoo and got our chance to photograph some animals. We all had a blast and couldnt have asked for more perfect weather!
Here are a few pictures of our day...

Working on a website...

2009-05-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the millions of pictures lately! I must admit, I have a new obsession :) I am working on a site just for photos so if you'll just bear with me for a few more days, Im about to post a couple pictures I took yesterday while at a playdate with my good friend Carly at Bradley Lake. She has a 2.5 year old son and an almost 11 month old daughter both of whom, are well loved by my kids so it makes for a very fun afternoon together!

PS..I am always looking for expecting mamas and squishy little newborns to practice on! Check out Stacys blog to see the 9 day old beauty we got to work with last night...also be sure to check out the contest shes sponsoring!

{Boys will be boys!}

If you saw on facebook, I wrote:
"Oh my goodness girl! Where did you get that sweater...
it is so cute!"

"Your shirt is so cute too!"

{Shoot Camp}

2009-05-12T00:25:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I had the pleasure of attending "Shoot Camp" given by the awesome Stacy Jacobsen! I was supposed to go awhile back but instead, got sick and was unable to make it. I was thrilled to be able to participate this time and I learned so much! In fact, I may just be assisting her in a wedding on Saturday! Yipee!! Here are a few pictures of "camp" and a couple I took of the kiddos yesterday for Mothers Day...
Enjoy!

{Looking for a perfect Mothers Day gift?}

2009-05-05T12:05:00.000-07:00

The amazing Stacy Jacobsen is at it again! This time shes giving away gift certificates at 50%! Ideal for any husband looking for that perfect gift for his wife...or for any mother for that matter! For more info, check out the ad below! !

{9 months}

2009-05-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

...and I still cant believe it!
For some reason, 9 months has been harder to "accept" vs. the previous months and I dont know why...maybe it's because she's quickly growing out of the baby stage and becoming a lovely little lady! I had a minor panic attack last week when I realized her birthday was 13 weeks away (party on the 25th...save the date!) I've gone on a major "party-planning" frenzy ever since!

In her 9th month she has-
*Mastered the art of crawling...we've got a little speed racer now, its really cute to see her fly across the floor! She is also walking along the table and trying to climb up the stairs and will occasionally stand on her own but that is still in the early stages...

*She can say "ba-ba" "ma-ma" and her personal favorite "da-da" :)

*Shes now the proud new owner of 4 teeth and loves to show off her biting skills (ouch!) we're working on fixing that..but the good thing about teeth is that it opens up so many doors to many types of food, she has already developed a love for fruits, sweet potatoes, and crackers!

and the most important thing............

* Her hair is finally starting to grow!!! Yippee!!

Here are a few of her 9 month pictures...and a couple of bath pictures, just to mix it up a little!

{Super-Sonic}

2009-04-27T23:04:00.000-07:00

There has been much hype surrounding the grand opening of the new "Sonic" here in western Washington, and today was the big day! After debating weather or not we should chance it, we decided to go for it, I figured if I can wake up at 4am the day after Thanksgiving, I can surely wait an hour or so for some amazing food :) The news stations were all over as if the President was in town. That's what you get for setting up shop in a small town like Puyallup (I say that loosely as it is quickly becoming quite a metropolis) thankfully, we have friends that live right across the street and we were able to park in their driveway (thank you Dan and Molly!) we put Norah in the stroller and Jacob walked with us. We got in the "walk-up" line and waited. Time passed quickly because there was so much to see. The long lines of cars being directed all over, the waitresses doing tricks on their rollerskates, the groups of gossiping teenagers, and the best part, the amount of free slushees that were passed out while we were in line...I must of had 6 different samples! We finally got our food, after about an hour in line, and dug in!It was simply amazing and so worth it! I think I've found a new favorite restaurant!!
Here are a few pictures of our day :)

{Our food!}

{These are just a few of the sample cups!}

{The other line}

{These guys were busy today! So much garbage!}

{The cars waiting to be called forward to the drive in stalls}

{This is Jacobs new embarassed face}

{It go a little breezy so Jacob cuddled with me}

{Norah sportin' the shades}

{Jacob loves to sit on Daddy's shoulders!}

{TheTiniest Twilight Fan!}

2009-04-26T23:11:00.000-07:00

This afternoon my friend Jessica came over with her adorable little girl, Keeley. She is a huge fan of the "Twilight" series and wanted to get some pictures of the baby wearing some of her gear! She did so well and I think they turned out great! I hope Jessica loves these as much as I did :)

Here are a few of my favorite!

{Birthday Freebies!}

2009-04-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

One of the blogs I follow regularly is Freebies 4 Mom. I love it because they are constantly listing amazing deals on products I use all the time. Todays post was particularly awesome because it listed a ton of participating businesses that offer something free or discounted on your birthday! I cant tell you how many of these I signed up for! Cold Stone, Famous Daves, Sephora, Dairy Queen, Sonic (b/c the new restaruant opens on Monday in South Hill!!!) and many more! Like I've said before, Im a sucker for a great deal and so I thought I'd share this with all of you too!
Have fun registering!

Click here to check out all of the offers!

{Standout Prom Contest!}

2009-04-23T21:56:00.000-07:00

My amazing friend Christy is sponsoring a unique prom contest this spring called 'Standout Prom' - This contest is all about inspiring young women, realizing unique beauty and fostering creativity – oh yeah, and giving one lucky lady the prom experience of a lifetime! All the contestants have to do is tell her why they standout in their high school. The Winner will receive a photo shoot by, c.pelland photography, and hair & makeup by CheMel Salon on the day of her prom! Lets help them give one unique young girl a prom experience like none other!

for more information see christypelland.com and click on 'contest'

{The Spring Fair!}

2009-04-20T17:56:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Steven and I loaded up the kids and spent the day at the Spring Fair. We couldnt have asked for better weather, it was simply a perfect day to go to the fair! I dont know who had more fun, the kids or us! There was so much food, many crafts, a ton of animals and Jacobs favorite part...the rides :) we are all looking
forward to this September when the big fair rolls into town.
We hope to keep this fun event an annual tradition in our house for years to come! I apologize for all of the pictures...there were just too many to choose from :)

{Happy (Belated) Easter!}

2009-04-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

I know this is a week late, but better late than never right? We had a wonderful Easter with our families. We've made it an annual tradition to go to The Ram every year for the amazing lunch buffet. Stevens parents come down from Shelton and both sides get together and spend a fun afternoon with the kids. This year Jacob went Easter egg hunting with his Grandma and Papa Fenton! Stevens parents offered to watch Jacob the whole week and give him back on Sunday and as much as I was bummed we didnt get to go with him, I knew he had a blast with his cousin Serena. We had our own little hunt here at the house so not all was lost :)

Here are a few pictures of our day!

Some treats we brought back from Las Vegas :)

{meow!}

2009-04-17T23:59:00.001-07:00

Thursday night, my friend Roxanne and few girls from church got together for a girls night! It was so much fun! We had a potluck style dinner and then we went to see the broadway showing of "Cats" at the Paramount theater in Seattle. The costumes were amazing and the music was brilliant. I am looking forward to "Rent" and "Wicked" coming this fall!
Thanks girls for an awesome night!

{Viva Las Vegas Part Deuce}

2009-04-17T10:31:00.001-07:00

If you have ever been to the Bellagio you'll know what Im talking about when I say the interior decorating is amazing and unlike any other of the hotels on the strip. As soon as you walk in you are greeted with an amazing glass artwork from the amazing Dale Chihuly. From there, you continue to walk into a beautiful indoor garden. The lighting was amazing and I couldnt help but bring out the camera!

Here are some of my favorite pictures....

{Viva Las Vegas Part 1}

2009-04-15T23:51:00.000-07:00

I took so many pictures of our trip to post all in one day, so I'll spread them out over a few! Here are a few of my favorite shots of some of the awesome casinos along the way...oh how I miss it already!
Enjoy!

{Opening Day!}

2009-04-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

Here's hoping for a better year than last! We are so excited to see Ken Griffey Jr. back in town too! Here's our little cheerleader rooting on the boys!!
GO MARINERS!

{Crib Fun}

2009-04-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

Well we made it back from Las Vegas and I am eagerly going through all the pictures that we have taken, I will post them later this week! We had such a great time with our friends and we saw all that there is to see. We visited all of the major hotels, got in a couple free shows, stopped by the old town on Freemont street and much much more! We missed the kids terribly but knew they were in great hands with the grandparents (Stevens parents took Jacob and my parents took Norah) before I break out the pictures of Vegas I have to share these pictures I took while playing around with Norah on Saturday :)

{Parade Fun}

2009-04-05T22:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend marked the 76th annual Daffodil parade in our town. This parade goes through a few cities in our county and lasts all day long, it's quite a production and its so much fun for the kids. We were surprised with some amazing weather this weekend which made for an even better time! Jacob had a blast this year and he was so excited to see pirates, ladybugs, tractors, cars, and firetrucks (and the floats of course!). Here are some pics from our day!

{that's our city!}

{Norah showing her excitement!}

{funny face}

{my handsome Jacob}

{she wasnt a fan of the grass, haha!}

On a sad note, that same day a father in our town shot and killed his 5 children. If you could please say a prayer for his wife and family as they grieve through this difficult time. Thank you

We are off to Las Vegas on Tuesday morning so I will try and blog while Im down there but they will probably be just pictures :) Have a great week and get out and enjoy this sun!!

{Looking for a fun time?}

2009-04-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Last month, our good friends Andy and Suzie invited us to a Thunderbirds Hockey game. We hadn't been to a hockey game in over 10 years so we figured we were due for another. Did you know there was a new arena built for them in Kent? I have never considered myself a "hockey fan" but you cant find this type of entertainment in any other sport. Whenever a fight would break out, the fans would go crazy. I couldnt believe the ref's who would just stand there and watch the guys duke it out! We had such a great time and will definatley be back next year. Every seat in the house has a perfect view of the ice and it was only a half hour away from our house...if you are looking for a fun night out with or without the kids, try visiting a hockey game next year!

{Me and Suzie}

{Steven and Andy enjoying huge burgers from The Ram}

{So much fun!}

{They got into a little disagreement!}

{Look out Edward}

2009-04-01T06:00:00.001-07:00

{It may finally be time for a haircut!}

{My attempt at photography}

2009-03-31T22:25:00.000-07:00

So if you follow me on facebook, then you've already seen these pictures and I thank you all so much for the sweet comments ..I am so flattered...but for those of you that are not on facebook (first of all, whats wrong with you?) and second of all, I wanted to introduce you to an adorable little family! They were my "guinea pigs" a couple of weekends ago while I practiced with some new techniques on my camera. I am still very much in the learning process but thanks to the photography group I am a part of that meets every month or so, I will be able to develop a better understanding on the amazing editing world of Photoshop cs4. So here are some of the images I have so far. These were not edited in Photoshop but once I begin to figure it out, I will re-edit these in hopefully a more professional fashion!
But for now, enjoy this beautiful little girl and her family :)

{The adorable Miss Adelynne, just 3 months old}

{Our New Bathroom}

2009-03-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, about a month after moving into our new house {10/07} we had a major flooding which caused us to pretty much have to re-model our entire house. We did the kitchen right away along with all of our main living areas but since we already have 2 other bathrooms, we didn't rush to finish the 3rd bathroom. We finally got around to it because it's nice for our guests to be able to have their own bathroom while they stay with us. Well we are nearly 99% finished and so I'd thought I share some before and after pictures! My awesome hubby did everything including the floors, molding, lighting and paint (thanks babe!) all I did was design and decorate :)

{Before}

{After}

{Going Green & Cloth}

2009-03-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

Last week I entered into a drawing being held by Seattle Moms Deal Finder one of my favorite money saving blogs and I won 2 tickets to the Seattle Green Festival! So Steven and I went on Sunday and we had a great time! I learned so much about many different topics, received many samples and was able to get a better idea of questions I had, one of them being cloth diapering. I had been quite interested in it ever since talking to my friend Becky who also does this. From talking to many different companies it has now reaffirmed my decision not only because it is way more cost effective but because diapers take up so much room in our landfills. We are starting to potty train Jacob now and its going really good. I figure Norah still has awhile and since we're not done having children, I can get more uses out of them later on.
My question to you is, if you cloth diaper, what brand do you use and why?
What are the initial start up costs?
and are the diapers you use adjustable?

I was overwhelmed at the different brands out there and I thought a personal referral would be better than buying them all and trying them out myself!
One of them that caught my interest was BumGenius...any opinions?
Thank you so much!!

For next years show, I encourage all of you to go! Even if you dont agree with everything, it sure is an eye opening experience and is definatley worth your time! To see what was available this year, you can go here

{Drum Roll Please!!}

2009-03-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much to all who entered! I was overwhelmed at everyones comments and it was by far, the most I've ever had which tells me I need to do another giveaway very soon and maybe even add some stationary into the mix! It was great reading everyones fun facts and favorite shows, 2 thumbs up to those of you that listed Survivor, that is my personal favorite :)

So without further a do...

The winner is......

Cheyenne Farrar
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Email me at LuvBug12683@hotmail.com and let me know which one you would like along with your mailing address and as long as its already made, it will ship tomorrow, otherwise give me a day or 2 to sew together one of my newest prints!

For those of you that didn't win this time and were still interested in a nursing cover, I am offering a 20% off discount to you and only you! You can email me at peekaboobebe@hotmail.com or simply go to www.peekaboobebe.com and let me know which cover you like and enter the code:BLOG that makes your cover only 16.00 and they make a wonderful shower gift!!!! I am still figuring out how to make this work on paypal so bear with me but I'll make sure you get the deal! {This offer will expire on April 15th :)}

Thanks again everyone!

www.peekaboobebe.com

{Adventures in cardmaking}

2009-03-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

I guess you can say I have become obsessed! It is so much fun and way easier than scrap-booking but unfortunately, not any cheaper :( What used to be daily trips to the mall, have now turned into frequent visits to Joanns and Michaels...they bait you in with great coupons and awesome sales I cant control myself! Crafting days have become weekly occurances at my place with some very creative girls! Thank you Amberlyn, Suzie and Brie for bringing me into the world of cardmaking! Bear with me as Im just starting and have yet to invest in the many tools need to create some amazing cards, that, and Im pretty plain anyway....

Enjoy!

{It can get really messy!}

{Heres a little of my scrapbooking too!}

{Giveaway!}

2009-03-22T18:18:00.001-07:00

Who doesnt love a giveaway? I cant pass up a good deal, and you can't beat free! I was trying to think of an important milestone/day/event in order to celebrate a giveaway and I couldnt think of anything...

So in honor of my 283rd post...
I present to you....
A free nursing cover of your choice!!

Thanks to so many of you who have been spreading the word, sales have started to increase quite a bit! Therefore, I have no choice but to keep shopping, and thats exactly what I did today! I wanted to share all 28 pieces I am currently working on...

Even if you are not pregnant or nursing, feel free to enter because they make a great shower gift!

So, here are the rules..
1.) Comment below with your name.. and because Im random like that, list your favorite tv show of all time -or- a fun fact about yourself!

2.) I will draw a name out of a hat 1 week from this post and let everyone know the winner!

3.) Dont forget to visit my official nursing cover website at http://www.peekaboobebe.com/ and follow me on this blog!!

You might recognize a few of these and if that's so, it's because these were very popular and have sold out so I brought them back! If you see one you like, just let me know and I can get it made in a day or so!

Here are my newest fabrics... enjoy and good luck!

{Amy Butler Deco Rose- Navy}

{Amy Butler Deco Rose- Forest}

{Amy Butler Deco Rose- Brown}

{Black and White floral with pink accents}

{Cream floral on light pink background}

{Blue and white damask on brown background}

{Brown, blue, green, and pink dot on white background}

{Black and white floral}

{Blue and white floral}

{Black and white}

{Lemons with white background}

{Black and whit damask}

{Cream floral print on light purple background}

{Brown print on bright blue background}

{Brown print on aqua background}

{Cream and black floral on red background}

{Pink, blue, and white circles on brown background}

{Orange print on bright pink background}

{Brown print on bright pink background}

{Blue circles on a white background}

{Shades of pink damask print on brown background}

{White damask print on brown background}

{Zebra print}

{Brown dots on light pink background}

{Little white dots on brown background}

{White and blue dots on a brown background}

{Brown floral on light blue background}

{Pinks, greens, and dark pink circles on brown background}

{Meet Daniel}

2009-03-18T23:32:00.000-07:00

Check out this adorable little 3.5 week old sweetheart! He belongs to my friend Becky and Im so in love with him! I just want to squeeze his little cheeks! Unfortunatley we didnt have much time together as is was drawing close to naptime and I was off to deliver a dinner to my good friend who also just had a baby...

My camera and I arent on speaking terms at the moment...It wasnt cooperating as I would have liked. So I was only able to capture a few good images..ugh! Becky, if you are reading this...we'll do this again (Soon!) Thank you for letting me snuggle with your little cuddlebug and I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I do!

Enjoy...
{Bear wuth me as Im just learning some new editing techniques, I still need to fine tune these a bit!}

{Im Back!}

2009-03-17T17:12:00.001-07:00

I "accidentally" took a blogging break.. I didnt mean to but I have never been as busy as I am now! I have begun and re-visited some new ventures and I cant wait to share them all with you! To name a few, I have jumped back into scrapbooking with a vengence and have been getting together twice a week with friends to catch up on a very long break! Thanks to Amberlyn, I have also been introduced to cardmaking. I absolutley love it and am already planning on hosting a card making party at my place very soon! And I cant forget about my sewing..as my stock is getting lower, I am back at the machine again...so fun! And for my most rewarding new hobby...photography! Oh how I love it! I am learning so much everyday and am having a blast taking pictures of some adorable newborns....stay tuned!
I will start a new/seperate blog very soon to show all of these "projects" off!

Sales have been amazing on the nursing covers, I cant thank everyone enough for all of the support these last couple weeks...all of a sudden, word of mouth is getting around and I am taking custom orders almost daily now! You sure know how to keep me on my feet! I have been aiming to get 4 covers done a day and I am so excited to show you all the new patterns! Coming soon!

I had all the intentions to attend Shoot Camp this weekend given by my friend and amazing photographer Stacy Jacobsen...but as luck would have it, I got the stomach flu Friday night and was unable to attend the full days session on Saturday..I was super bummed. Thankfully she let me come by yesterday and showed me some awesome Photoshop actions that I will be putting to use! We were able to get a lot of questions answered and participate in a photo shoot on Friday night. I was quite happy with how they turned out and just to show off a little..here's a little sneak peak at a few of my favorites from the "Senior Session"

...oh how I could type all night long, I'll leave you with this gorgeous model from Friday night and tease you by letting you know there will be a few newborn shoots coming very soon!

{Giveaways!}

2009-03-03T23:51:00.000-08:00

Thank you Janaye for linking these awesome giveaways to your blog...

Who doesnt love to win stuff, especially when its so stinkin adorable, here are just 2 of the great things being given away...check them out and enter for yourself!

Born to Impress hair clips
and
Puss Ann shoes

Good luck :)

{Heartache}

2009-03-02T11:03:00.000-08:00

As I was reading one of my daily blogs, I came across this one here. Please pray for comfort as this family is going to have to say goodbye to their little girl tomorrow.

Thank You.

{Interview!}

2009-03-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

Here is my interview with Angela...she emailed me these questions and now its my turn to answer them...if you'd like to be a part of this too, scroll down for details, so fun!

1. If you could only eat 3 foods a day what would they be?
Wow, I never thought this question could be so hard. Right away I thought of soda (perferrably Sprite, but Coke would be a close 2nd) but then I remembered how much I liked Sluprees...so thats a toss up!

I love cheese too, any kind eaten on anything :)

I could also eat sourdough bread warmed up with real butter...oh yeah baby!

Runners up would be:
Chicken breast
Olives
Sunflower seeds (ranch)
Bean Sprouts
Sugar Cookies
and
Crispy Bacon

2. What do you do to relax and de-stress?

Shop
I know that may seem odd to some, but I promise I really do feel much better, physically and emotionally when I can get out for a bit and find some great deals.

Does that make me a candiate for an intervention? I hope not!

3. If you could go to any country for free, where would you go and why?
::thinking:: ::thinking:: ::thinking::
{another tough question}
I'd love to take an African Safari so anywhere that would allow that....

Runners Up:
I love me some tropical weather too so Aruba or Bora Bora would be nice
Egypt....I think the pyramids would be amazing
Italy...yummy food and architecture

4. Do you prefer a stormy night with cuddling or a romantic dinner at a nice restaurant with ambiance?
Romantic dinner at a nice restaurant hands down!
Steven and I love to go out and eat...we do it quite often and its a great time to be able to sit and chat and spend some quality time together!

5. If you could only shop at one store for the rest of your life, where would it be?
Target!
Enough said.
But in case you dont get it...adorable clothes for the kids and grown ups, great books, home decor=my style, make up, and we love the cafe :) all at great prices!

Now, if you would like ME to interview YOU, here’s what to do:
1. Leave me a comment so I know AND add one random fact about yourself :)
2. I will email you 5 questions (make sure I have your email address)
3. You answer the questions on your blog.
Deal?