New Shoes!

Three new pairs of shoes from Grammy!


We got some good deals on the shoes and we got the new Winnie the Pooh movie! Thanks Grammy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Beast: Valentine's 2012


Last year! My how she has grown!!


I have been racking my brain for Valentine ideas since Christmas! I have set a standard that I have to uphold! I wanted it to be fabulous and economical!

First I thought, donuts!


Then maybe pie pockets!


Well, how about pie pops that are more kid sized?


Nope, scrap them. I'm not feeling it. Candy in baggies it is!!!


Then, one afternoon while I was picking up Noey, Miss Joanie said, "You have competition on Tuesday! Two of the mothers were talking about out doing you!" This struck a chord with me. I am never one to walk away from a crafting challenge. I am a pro at trolling the internet and finding great ideas to make my own!!! It's on! And really, is there anything wrong with wanting to be the best? I think it makes you a better, stronger person. If you are going to do something, do it up right! (You can tell I've been criticized for my Valentine competition attitude but most think I'm just funny!) I've always said the reason God never gave me a sister is because I would have eaten her alive!!! Competition wise, not literally. Just wanted to clear that up.

I settled on dipped fortune cookies in the cute take out boxes from Michael's. I found a recipe online so we could insert our own fortunes. Dave bought me a food processor so I could make it all happen. The kids at school thought that Valentine gift was so romantic! Ha ha! It's what I asked for!!



Noey and I both were sick the day before Valentine's so I scrapped the homemade part of the fortune cookie! The La Choy ones I got were pretty tasty and I didn't want to stress over it. So much for my food processor! They were super easy to dip and decorate. I put shredded pink, white, and red paper in the bottom of the take out boxes and included our own fortune that said "I'm so fortunate you're my friend! ~ Love Noelle" I think they turned out really great.









Miss Joan sure did it up at her house! Foil balloons hanging from the ceiling...there had to be 30 of them! Cupcakes, cake, decorations, mailboxes, games. It was a Valentine wonderland! Noelle was in heaven when she saw the balloons. We currently have two at home that she drags everywhere! We have to fight off Neko though from eating the ribbons!!!



I was anxious to see what Noelle brought home from my competition. Brownies and rice krispy treats!



Noelle was spoiled on Valentine's. She got a kissing Nala and Simba set, a toy guinea pig that squeals, eats, drinks, and "pees", a t-ball set, and lots of treats and goodies from family in the East!



We're hoping to not break another window with the T-ball set. We only had to show her once how to hold the bat and what to do! She is so smart! And we're hoping she doesn't turn that bat on us or the cats!!!



One of my students bought Noey this Valentine ladybug that was filled with animal crackers! I thought that was so nice of her!!!



If you tally up the cost of all my ideas gone by the wayside and then the final project, you'll see there was absolutely nothing economical about this latest fiasco! Oh well! Onward to St. Patty's Day!

This pic has nothing to do with Valentine's but I'm going to throw it in. We went to Wiener-schnitzel and Noey has learned how to dip!! :)

Super Grover!

I put Noey's birthday backup dress on her the other day! I figured she better wear it at least once!

Have Knife, Will Cut

We are in for serious trouble with this one!


She laughs about her violent self!

Go Tigers!

We lasted about 45 minutes at the basketball game! She did clap and watched the ball fly around for a bit but then she wanted to run! We gave the Tiger a hug before we headed out!

Voting Day!

Today was the caucus in Nevada! Last time around we were late getting there and did not get to vote. This year Dave had us all preregistered so we were good to go and did not have to stand in line! I got to be Chairwoman for our precinct and Dave is an official delegate! I feel so important. I told Dave that I intend to be addressed as "Madame Chairwoman" until the next caucus in 4 years. :)


We got a new sign. We don't know if the first one was stolen or the wind blew it away! The wind was really bad so that is my guess as no one has bothered this sign.


This guy was totally happy to vote!


We had a nice dinner with Kevin, Nina, and Nanna last night! Noey enjoyed her vittles!


This is Noelle's Groundhog Day project from daycare. Our girl has some crazy mad art skillz for 16 months!!


This is my Etsy rug that took almost a year!!! I really like it and think I will send her the paint swatches for Noelle's bathroom to match. Her normal lead time is 3 months when she doesn't forget about your order!!


Meet Patch. He is Noelle's new guinea pig. I got him for V-day but couldn't wait because I wanted to play with him! He eats his lettuce and makings chomping sounds and hiccups. He squeaks, hops, and loves to be pet. He also drinks his milk, pees, and shakes his leg when he's done!! I want a real one (I know, they are stinky) but we can't because Ninja would eat it or seriously stress the crap out of it!


Talking to Grammy on the phone today.


This is what happens when you take the phone away...




Gotta love The Beast!

Cast Removal!

Cast removal occurred on Tuesday, Jan 24th. It was traumatizing for everyone! I still remember when I was three and it took 3 or 4 people to hold me down when I got my cast off!

Getting in a few last whacks!


Unaware of the saw blade rolling down the hall...


Showing off her crazy skills.


Dave held Noey and he was just as upset as she was. Dr. Tabbitha helped him hold her while I covered her ears and kept eye contact with her. Once Noelle realized the saw and noise were not going to hurt her she settled a bit! When the cast was taken off though she totally freaked and scrambled across the table to grab it. She tried several times to put it back on her arm and whimpered like, "how dare you cut off my arm?!"

All done.




Sad baby.


Guess she is a hoarder like her dad! Goldfish crackers and stickers! Her two favorite things!


Healing up! I was surprised they didn't take the x-ray first but I guess they were confident that 4 weeks was enough time. I was even more surprised to still see the break so clearly but I am going to trust in their expertise that she is healed enough to be without the cast. Dr. Tabbitha said Noey looked great. I still asked for a wrap or brace and they checked our insurance and got us one. They said she didn't need it but they don't know how wild The Beast is and how rough she plays with her daddy!!!! Two weeks in the brace, but I may have her wear it a little longer for my own paranoia!


Home with her brace and loving being able to freely dig for toe jam! My girl is weird! She had a blast in the tub too!!


Would you like some corn or celery?


Darth Vader wanted to do push ups! I showed her how to use them and she totally mocks me, grunts and all!


Don't blink, you'll miss her!


"Helping" us reconfigure the Love Sac.


The Beast was having a bad night so we put her in her prison jammies.


This is the progress we have made with the Sit N'Spin....using it as a stool!!


Noelle is just about grown out of her baby seat that is in the Jeep so it was time to order a new one!! Today at the doctor Feb 2, we were told she is 22 pounds, 6 ounces.

We found a Pitt Panthers Britax online for her. It looked like it was royal blue, said it was Navy, but it's totally black! Oh well! It's just for the Jeep! LOL!