Purses

Okay, so Susan gave me a really good idea... talking about purses!
The Movie Purse: a large size purse able to carry much needed, inexpensive edible items, bought at the local grocery store, in order to save money. Items I've put in a move purse? Full bag of chips with bean dip and nacho cheese in a jar. Bags of candy. Cans of Diet Coke. And most interestingly, grapes and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (with Lori in Washington during "My Best Friends Wedding").
The Mom Purse (not necessarily for mom's) : Baby-diaper-size purse with random items including but not limited to lotions, cameras, hairbrushes, socks, mascara, a mirror, gum (regular and bubble), safety pins, a wad of receipts, and much, much more.
The Mini Purse: One of my favorites. This purse usually includes my cell phone, driver's license, debit card, and keys.
The Every-day Purse: Not as fun, but what is usually in my purse... cell, wallet, chap stick, gum, lotion, and my keys (and the annoying spare change the I have to dig forever to find a penny).
Got any "purses" that you'd like to add?

Why I'm thankful...

I was talking with someone today on the phone from the corporate office and he asked me how I was doing... so, I told him that I was doing pretty good, although it seems that everyone I know has one of those super-full lives. I proceeded to tell him that my sister, Rachael, had just adopted a little Russian girl, one of my friend's is pregnant, my sister, Natalie is getting married in June, another friend just got engaged and is also getting married in June, and for this weekend? Well, Sunday is Natalie's graduation from college, and her bridal shower (and I'm the maid of honor), and Jason's birthday, which we'll be celebrating on Saturday...
His response? "Sounds like 'Days of our lives'"! Hey, at lease Sammi, Bo and Hope stay in the TV!
So, to tie it all together, I'm thankful that while my life is busy and stressful, it's not near as close as theirs may be and I just have to be supportive and their friend...
Life is good!

American Idol Gives Back

Have you had goosebumps for two hours straight before? Watching American Idol tonight with all the singers and Josh Groban with the little kids and pictures from Africa and showing how such a little bit of money can make a huge difference and allow children to learn and live!
Powerful!
Did you know that $50 can provide 100 children with medicine to make sure they don't get malaria?
Go to www.americanidol.com and click on "Idol Gives Back" and make a difference today. Instead of spending $50 on spring clothes or going out to eat... I gave it to children in Africa. Instead of blowing money on gum or candy that I don't need anyway, I gave it to dying families in Africa. Instead of having professionals wash my car, I'll do it myself (or just go without) and give that money to a child for books. Instead of spending money on a hair cut or color, it can wait, but those in Africa won't have to wait for that money to be spent to help their living conditions....
As of 9:45 p.m. American Idol gives back has raised over 30 million dollars!
Donate now!
Make a difference!
SAVE A LIFE!

Addendum: Thank you, Jason, for "giving back"!

Natalie's bridal shower

I'm Natalie's maid of honor for her wedding, which is in only 6 or 7 weeks away... Lori and I have been working on her bridal shower and at first, I had no idea where to begin, but Lori took control and everything is coming together quite easily! I've gotten vases for fresh flowers at Target for the tables (in green and white) and also found paper plates with the green and pink theme and the cutest invitations too! Lori and I got the invitations done last week, already, so that's out of the way...

I also came up with a fantastic idea! A wedding magazine/store for planning bridal showers and bachlorette parties. Themes, games, decorating ideas, etc. Why? Because there isn't one out there!

Well, here's a few pictures of what we have so far...

Betsy's birthday

Last March, my best friend Betsy had her 30-something birthday... we had such a good time with so many friends! Just wanted to share a couple of pictures...

By the way: Lindsey is also a kick in the pants!

She's home!

Just before Katya got home, I went and bought a dozen bright girly colored balloons and one large Care Bear balloon with four separate balloons attached (one for each child). I was super excited to see them come back and waited outside as they pulled into the drive-way, waving like a mad-woman. I just wanted to give her my usual "squishy" hug but didn't want to squish her! She's super tiny! Rachael introduced all us auntie's but I'm sure she'll need to be reminded for a few more times.
We could all tell that she already has the family love for animals. Real, like the dogs, hamster, and the cat as well as the stuffed animals all over!
Before I left, I got on my knees to give her a hug and I told her "dos-vey-don-ya" (I'm pretty sure that Russian for "goodbye" or "see ya later" or something along those lines and she repeated it back to me... then I told her "ya-tay-bya-la-boo" for "I love you" in Russian (and I was pretty darn proud of myself, you know) then she looks at me, starts to laugh, then says "I love you" and runs off! I was so shocked! I told her, as she left, "you little stinker! you know English!!!" We'll have to teach her more, I know, but I just couldn't get over that cute moment!

Now I know what surreal really means

Rachael and Derrick. Adopting a russian 7-year old. Is it really happening? Are we really going to have her here in 3 days? It seems like it was all happening, but at the same time, it seemed like it would just take forever and a day. But, no, she'll be here this week! Do I need to get a bigger car so I can fit all 4 kids in my car without having one sit in the front seat? Should I take off work? I'm an auntie again! Will she like me? I hope. Will she want to go to Dairy Queen? I sure hope so!! So, this makes... 9 neices and nephews plus 8 step-neices and nephews? right? I think so... 17 NEICES AND NEPHEWS!!!!! Wow! And Lori, Natalie, and I haven't even had one kid yet!
Either way, I'm super excited, and I know I can take on this role... Katya's favorite auntie is ready!! ha-ha

Catch up

So, I haven't had too much time to blog lately... but I will be putting up some pictures from Easter fairly soon. I also had some good quality time this weekend to work on my antique dresser that I bought at a garage sale about 2 years ago, stripped it, then just left it like that for forever... so, I finally broke down and went to Ace and bought stain, stained it, bought really cute handles and now it's done and back in my room. It looks super cute and I love it! The stain kinda smells a bit, though, but I'm sure it'll go away soon. I'll post a picture of it soon too. Well, I guess that's it for now!

Here's the dresser, cute, huh? The stuff on top is just set up there, don't worry, that's not how I decorate...

Here are the kids from the extremely cold Easter we had this year... they were so cute and excited and both Kristen and Jack helped Ben find eggs and they all had a really fun time, including me and Jason.

The Incredible EGG!

Lined up and ready to go, Kristen, Jack, and Ben were anxious to start the dying process...

Did I honestly think about it, when I bought the egg dying kits earlier this week to use with the kids? I don't think so... right now, my fingers are dyed green-ish, blue-ish, dirty-ish with a touch of red, not to mention my new dyed look as nail polish!

So, you've figured it out, I helped the kids dye Easter eggs this afternoon, three different batches, cups everywhere, eggs everywhere, and tons of paper towels, this year wasn't as organized as I wanted. Yes, I actually gathered all the kids together to attempt an "egg-dying lesson" including ideas of mixing colors, using crayons to accent and design the eggs, and making sure that they all knew beforehand to not drop the eggs in the cups or take them out and that I would be there to help with that part... what was I thinking?

Did I really think I'd be successful? An egg/vinegar/color combo without a mess? without a fight? No.

But I sure hope the kids had fun! Little egg-professionals that they are, Jack trying to find the perfect combo for a really, really bright sunny yellow egg; Kristen testing all the blue colors for the best mix to make a power-eye-catching blue egg, adn Ben aiming to get the most eggs in the cup as possible...

Would there actually be an egg you could call the best? No.

But to the kids? Oh, yah!

The kids had a really good time, in fact, when I told them that they'd have to help clean the kitchen, they acted like it was a given! Wow, who's been training these kids? Last time I made dinner with them all before Rachael and Derrick went to Russia and told them that they had to clean the kitchen too, because that was a part of making dinner, they weren't too happy about it, let me tell you!

I wanted to take a picture of Jack, so I told him to smile... so he did...

Then I told him that he should smile with his teeth showing and he asked me why I always like it when his teeth are showing when he smiles, so I told him that it seemed like a real smile, so I got him to smile, again.

So, once I get pictures from Sunday of these cute kids finding all these little colored treasures, I'll share them with you, too! I'm sure I'll also have a couple of stories to go along too!

A parade in the grocery store

So, Kristen wanted to go the grocery store to buy eggs to dye tonight, and of course, Jack and Ben wanted to go too... so, before leaving the house, I had them all raise their right hand (Ben needed a little help finding the right one) I had them each repeat after me, "I will be good and obey auntie Francie," then we were ready to go.
They all piled into the back of my car and off we went, listening to the radio while each kid sang their own version of some random song in their head...
Holding hands, we entered the grocery store, only to find the largest blue extended cab grocery cart the store had, which, of course, was a magnet for the kids...

Jack and Ben got the top two seats, while Kristen climbed into the grocery area and we were off! Clearing a path down the isles, waiving to customers, chatting up a storm, and trying to find the eggs, this short quick trip to the store for eggs, became a local parade!

"Can I have a donut?" Jack asked. "No, never mind, I already had one today."
So, we found the eggs, although the store wasn't as stocked with eggs as I assumed they would be, since Easter is just two days away!
We finally made it to the side customer service counter (very convenient for one with a bunch of kids who may like to grab a few candy bars in the usual isles) and made it to the car without much more of a scene (luckily!)
Should I have just gone to the store without them, and saved 20 minutes? Or take them with me, allowing them to help hold something and experience the whole "grocery shopping" part of life, as it is super fun, you know!
Either way, they had a lot of fun in a mega-blue-cart, and we were able to have fun together, too!

Me and my sister...

Were Natalie and I really this close? We're roommates now, but not for much longer... she getting married. My little sister, married? June 10 is coming around quite quickly, and while we may not always get along...
i.e. "you need to clean your mess!" or "Turn your TV down, I'm trying to sleep!" or "Can I borrow some money?"
... we still love each other. It's going to be really weird NOT having her around, too! How is she going to survive (and keep her house clean) without me? Will I survive without her?
I guess, I should look at the positive side... there's six kids in my family and number 2 got married before number 1; number 4 got married before number 3; and number 6 is getting married before number 5 (me). Which means that obviously, since all the other siblings in my family will be/are married but me, then I'm next... but I'm definitely not rushing into anything!
Another positive thing? Maybe Nat will invite me over to her house and let me ride the boat in the lake behind the house! I'm sure I'll probably have to clean her house, while I'm there too, huh? Either way, she's my little sister, the only one I have, and while I know she'll tell me, "this is soooo cheesy!" I do love her and will miss her and her signature messy room style of decorating!

An Antique!

My mom turned 35 years old (again, ha-ha) this last February and when I asked her how old she was, she told me she was almost an antique! While she made me laugh, (pretty good too!) I told her that she had a little while longer to go... then she, of course, pointed out that it was a VERY long time away because to be considered "antique" is to be 100 years old or more... No, my mom is not an antique; although, if one were to respect someone as much as an antique, she would then be an antique... (I hope that makes sense...)
Who is this person? My mom! Isn't she one of the cutest little girls? I found copies of these pictures in my scrapbook stuff and scanned them and put them on a CD so my family can also have a copy of them... Yes, I have more too, it's really cool to see someone you've always known as an adult in pictures when they were little kids. Proof, I guess, that while she may look perfect (and has always been perfect, according to my mom...) just knowing that she was a little girl allows me to believe that hopefully, like I always did, she got in trouble for something!
I take pictures of my neices and nephews, when I get the chance, but really, is having few pictures make those pictures even better than having a ton?
This may be the case for my 'little-innocent-looking-little-girl-as-my-mom' but when I think back... I feel that I have accomplished my 'auntie' duties of taking pictures of my neices and nephews and hope that when (should I say "if"?) I have kids, then their aunties better be there too!
Either way, I love my mom, I love this picture and I'm glad that while it's a scanned copy of the original, I still have pictures of my mother as a little girl... pictures are also great ways to remember too. While my mom is already a grandma of way-too-many, she still has this same look of kind, happy, easy-going-ness that I hope I also have...

Early Easter Baskets

Last week, Tuesday, my mom and Natalie had to register for Nat's wedding at Target and took all 4 kids with them... I met them a little later and had Kristen and Madeline help me pick out some Easter baskets for themselves and Jack and Ben too...
I then gave them the baskets on Wednesday (Jack was sick and in bed, so he got his later), but Kristen enjoyed her skateboard, Ben loved his silly putty, and Madeline just addored her princess dress up stuff! My mom thought it reduculous to give them all that stuff, but as an auntie, I have an obligation to spoil and buy needless things! Spoil them rotten and then hand them over...