She Shoots She Scores!!

Chelo has had a great basketball season this year!! She is so super tall that is is able to shoot, block, and rebound fairly easily. She is by far one of the TALLEST players in the league so it has been fun watching her develop her skills this year. She has had a lot of fun with it and really likes to play! This is a little video clip of one of her many buckets on the season...

Kung Fu Ninja

For the past week or so our little Buzzy has been playing Card-jitsu on

Club Penguin and talking about earning all of the different colored belts. Well it was today that I finally watched her playing the game. I had envisioned penguins karate chopping each other but much to my SURPRISE!!! it is similar to the card game WAR. No skill involved...simply flip a card and the best card wins. Well you earn points for just playing and more if you win. THEN when you work your way through all of the colored belts (and there are like TEN!!) you have to battle and beat the Sinsea to get your black belt. I promised her that when she did that we could make a ninja mask!! She wore it ALL weekend long while practicing her ninja moves!!

WIS Spelling Bee

Adler had her school spelling bee today. She was nervous but seemed to be holding it together great. I was probably more nervous for her. She is a GREAT speller but hasn't had any luck advancing to the City Spelling Bee in past years. At the WIS the whole school is given a spelling test and the 28 highest scores in the school advance to the spelling bee. Her first word... C-I-D-E-R!!! She asked for the definition--nodded and spelled the word correctly right away. She made it through the next round easily.... and the third round came. Her word was "violate". She stood up, said violate and spelled it V-I-A-L-A-T-E. *darn* She was out...getting Tenth place. Not bad but I am sure she was disappointed that she didn't make it to the City Bee. Oh well, I was VERY proud of her and I am sure I would have been out quickly... those words were HARD!!!

Chelo and Crosby had come with me to watch. The crowd had to be absolutely silent...well, Crosby got bored after about 10 minutes and it took everything I had to keep her quiet for the rest of the bee. Chelo (who had gotten 3rd last week at her school, advanced to the City Bee! *we didn't get any pics so I will update how she does with her own post of that bee*) was sitting next to the little neighbor kids who were making noises at her and she was trying to keep them quiet. Well, Mr. Hammer (the WIS principal) stopped the person spelling and said "Chelo Be Quiet!!" OMG! I am SURE she was mortified!!! She is a quiet kid by nature, pretty ironic that she would get busted for talking at a spelling bee!! I am sure it was a lesson learned!! So needless to say the WIS Spelling Bee was quite a RUCKUS between nerves, antsy 5yr olds, and chatty kids but we made it through just fine and as usual with no time to dwell on anything...cause it was off to piano lessons from there and we made it just in the nick of time!!!

The ScrapFunattic Blog

So I have been sooo busy lately with my newest adventure...Blogging for ScrapFunattic. You all know how much of a creative addict I am and this is my new outlet for 2010. I wanted and needed to expand creatively and I am happy to have this opportunity to do something COMPLETELY new, different, and challenging!! Together with friend, Alicia Day we recently filmed our first of what we hope are MANY scrapbooking tutorials. So take the chance to run over and check it out!! You can follow this link!!!

Organization With ALICIA!!!

Here are a few pics of Alicia and the girls filming our first organizational video. It turned out really cute I thought and we have since done 2-3 more with many others planned for the future!!

Heath was at work/then the big girl's softball practice so the little girls came with me. They were REALLY good (as always!) Paisley sat in her "chair" aka carrier and Crosby watch a movie on my laptop. They each make an appearance in Video 1 along with little Paisley *talking* throughout most of it!

I am so lucky to be able to take my girls everywhere I need to go, knowing they are going to be good!

To check out our organizational vids hop on over the the ScrapFunattic Blog and click the link on the right side bar that says video.

BOO-tiful New Banner!!!

Check out our AWESOME-ly wonderful new header at the top! Isn't it the coolest!?! Well, I have been wanting a custom header for quite a while but I will say that my photoshop skills are non-existent!!! So I enlisted the help of my friend Laura McPherson. She is a SUPER talented photographer and graphic artist!! She even does CUSTOM invitations (L.Fox!!!) for her business Elephant Juice Designs (Chelo is going to be soo jealous when she sees of all of her cool elephant graphics!!) I read her blog daily and I always find myself admiring the layout of it. I asked her if she would help me with my FACELIFT and she graciously had the new banner for me the NEXT day!! So I wanted to jump one here today and put a link to her blog and website and to send Laura a gratitude SHOUT OUT!!! You rock girl!!

Wing Street Saturday Night

We decided to go out to eat tonight...nothing major, just a chance to get out of the house. We went to Pizza Hut Wing Street, a new place in town. A few months ago they tore down our Taco Tico {sniff sniff} and old Pizza Hut and built the new Sport's Bar type Wing Street in it's place. It is really nice inside and it was good to get out of the house and do something as a family.
Paisley was ENTRANCED by the plamsa tvs on the walls!! Her daddy thinks that means she needs one for her room...haha! He later said..."I meant the living room!!" It sure would be nice to have cause our main TV is so Honkin HUGE compared to the flat screens of today but it works just fine so I think we'll hold out just a little longer!!! Paisley was such a good baby, she just sat in her seat smiling away while we ate. We didn't see many people we knew (which was surprising for Winfield on a Saturday night) but several strangers came up and talked to her.

The girls, Crosby especially seemed to be really loud at dinner tonight for some reason. Luckily the place was busy or we would have gotten a lot of evil eyes for sure!!! They are probably on a constant Mario Brothers high and can't manage to calm down!!!

The pizza was good ole' Pizza Hut! The girls had personal pans and Heath decided to try the cheese fries and I got a side salad with our pizza. I was bummed cause there is no SALAD bar!! WTH??? I wasn't too thrilled about that but, oh well. The cheese fries (which are an interesting thing to serve at Pizza Hut--but I guess that is the whole sports bar vibe they're trying to put off) were just okay we thought. They were seasoned steak fries covered with nacho cheese sauce and bacon. I thought they would be really cheesy---the good way...MELTED all over but NOT!! So we probably won't be getting those again.

I'm sure my mister is happy that I am always taking (and posting) pictures of him from this angle!! Such a nice profile!! i {love} him...he humors me!!

Overall it was a nice outing followed by some movies from the Redbox. The girls got Monsters vs. Aliens- which they really liked. And we got the Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt---both had Michael Douglass in them!! and both were pretty good movies!!

Pitch Party!!!

mr. curtis decided that he was in the mood to play some pitch so we called the johnson's and harden's to come over and learn. I have played somethings like it before (hearts, spades and maybe pitch) but it has been so long that a refresher was needed!!! I decided at the last minute that we could NOT have a pitch party without crazy hats (a long running tradition of ours while playing cards!) It is just so much more fun to play cards and not take yourself so seriously when wearing a crazy hat!!!

the SEE-STERS

Randy aka Chachi and I


da boyz (Heath had cat ears on top of his hat at one point---until they fell off and we found Bruiser chewing on them!! Darn dog!)

The kids were all snuggled up on the chair together--sooooo cute!! I love that the girls have a brother in Davin. He is so good to them and has a strong relationship with each girl differently. He is a very special guy to us!!

and then there was my early bird. Ads is always the first to crash no matter what is going on!!

It was a good night had by all! We didn't get many rounds of pitch in (maybe 3 or four) once we got the hang of it! but we didn't care...it was fun to laugh and visit!!

Stitching Class at the Attic

Paisley girl and I met L.Fox at the Attic for a little girl time. They hold 2 Friday night crops a month and normally I like to stay home on Friday nights after a long work week, but I needed to get out and go to the store. It had been too long since Lindsay and I had done that...

Steff played with Paisley a TON so I was free to shop, talk, and play!!

Lindsay hadn't seen Paisley in almost a MONTH and she was soo surprised at how much she had grown!!! L.Fox also held her a lot, especially toward the end of the evening. She didn't get any cropping in because we were just visiting and she was holding Paisley's binkie in her mouth (it pops out every couple of seconds but if she is sleepy and you hold it in she just sucks away and falls right to sleep!) The whole time I was thinking that she's going to make a great mom some day to a couple of lucky kids!! ;) I think we'll get her married first though!! (july 10th!! yay!)

I did get this layout done. I LOVED the way it turned out! It is for the stitching class I am teaching at the Attic January 30th from 2-4. I think there are a couple of spots left so come join me!! We will be doing the three layouts below plus 2 cards. There will be at LEAST 7 stitching techniques we will be going over that day!! The cost is $22 and this includes all of the supplies you will need to complete the 5 projects plus leftovers!! Call the store (316-733-0029) to get signed up today!! I would LOVE to have a bunch of my Winfield/AC friends there!!!

My mom laughs every time we talk about my teaching a stitching class. She is the "stitcher" of the family and my skills are limited when it comes to sewing on fabric but sewing on paper is sooo simple!! My girls could do it!! It's all about learning the tips and tricks!!

BPHS Assembly--You don't want to miss this POST!

Every year at BPHS the staff puts on an assembly for the students to reward them for all of their hard work throughout the year. Since we are teachers, most of us are a little/ or a LOT "hammy" so usually these things end up being pretty darn HILARIOUS! This year they asked me to be in the American Idol skit. I said sure right away and then she told me that I would be singing Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA, and they wanted me to be the contestant that was a HORRIBLE singer. I didn't think much of it at the time but on the drive home from work I started to realize what I had just agreed to!!! When I got home and told mr. curtis and the girls about it they were in disbelief. Chelo and Heath ESPECIALLY were thinking they needed to take off school/work to come see this performance!! Heath said there was NO WAY he would stand on stage in front of the whole school (students, faculty, and administrators!!) and sing--good or bad! He said he would quit his job or come down really sick to avoid it!! The more they talked the more I started to panic about it...but oh well, there wasn't anything I could've done at that point. I had already agreed!! So all the rest of that evening and the next day I just told myself that it wasn't that out of character for me and that I could handle it!! Being nervous was only going to make things worse!! (how sad that I was drawing this pep talk to myself from the ones I would have before a big race back in the day!!) In the end it went just fine---the judges actually cut me off really early, WHEW!! The kiddos thought I sounded HORRIBLE and have requested that I not sing ever again!! The audio isn't good but I am posting a clip of the Reality TV assembly so you can have a good laugh!!!!!

Idol FEVER!!!

Is this going on in your house??? Each year my beloved ones look forward to January!! Why?? Because they all LOVE them some Idol!! Yes Heath, Adler, and Chelo have extreme cases of Idol FEVER!!! Every Tuesday and Wednesday they hunker (oh yes I did just say that!!!) around the television with their dinner and STARE for 2 hours! I fade in and out of the picture...usually bustling around the house doing a few evening things, working in my crop room or on the computer. I just CANNOT justify two hours on TWO weeknights watching reality tv. Now don't get me wrong I have those shows that I am RELIGIOUS about (Oprah, the Challenge, Housewives, Bros. and Sisters, CSI, and so on... oooh Tough LOVE!) see I have a TON but they are ALL dvr'd and waiting for me at a more convenient hour aka after everyone else is in bed!!! I don't know if it is because I am sooooo darn spoiled by dvr (I can't sit through commercials anymore!) or because there are just to many other things between 7-9 that I would rather be doing/that need to be done. I just don't watch. I DO like the show but when time is short, tv for me is one of the first things to go!! Crosby is also beginning to DREAD Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Those are the nights Chelo stays and she wants to PLAY but it isn't happening and she doesn't really get why. Poor girl... so I have been trying to keep her entertained (even if it is at the sacrifice of my Distress Ink!!!)

I think the madness lasts til June (CrAzY!!!!) so we'll just have to get used to it I suppose!! I start teaching my spin/toning class at the Rec tonight so I will be out of the house for most of the show. I just hope Mr. Curtis remembers that we have a baby!!! :)

Wonderful Weekend!

As my first week of school back from maternity leave drew to a close I was EXHAUSTED so say the least. But more than that I felt that I wanted to get home on Friday afternoon and stay put in my nice warm house with my girls and my hubs. The only problem to that scenario was WHAT was I going to do to occupy my time in between feedings and diapers? Cook and Clean?? Maybe a little, but I don't think that would work the whole time. NO WAY!! Not only that, I refuse to spend another minute on the couch with this view...

Since Christmas ALL the girls have done is sit RIGHT in front of the tv and play Mario Bros. (as Crosby calls it!) and Mario Cart. But HELLLOOO, am I the only one who wants to watch a show?? Crosby says she is addicted! (When her cousin Addy asked her what "addicted" meant she replied "I can't stop playing!!!") LOVELY!!

So I came up with a plan on my way home Friday night. I have a HUGE house and so far I have not been happy with my scrapbooking set up. Most recently I have tried our finished attic which is nice and has PLENTY of space but it is just too far from the main floor where all of the action is!! If I am going to seclude myself all weekend then Maple Memories or Scrapfunattic here I come!!! But I knew neither of those were in the cards for me so plan B in full effect it was!! We have a sun porch off of our kitchen that just collects junk. The problem is that it is surrounded by windows and has a door and HENCE the room is freezers!! I said brrr it's cold in here.... So I ran my idea by Mr. Curtis and he was on board. I spent ALL Friday night cleaning and organizing the room and first thing SATURDAY morning my mister was off to the lumber yard for supplies. This is the porch about halfway through the cleanup process:

And this, my friends, is the finished product.....

It is PERFECT for me for right now. We are planning on doing more to it...some carpet or tile and shelving...maybe a few more tables (heehee)... In the end and a little space heater later the room was just as warm as the rest of Casa Curtis. and I was able to play around a little for my Stitching class that I am teaching at the Attic at the end of this month.

Cute stuff...and now I am a happy momma...and as we all know that is they key to happiness for all!!

MEANWHILE...back at the ranch...what were the girls doing while we were slaving away??

They got all decked out like the Mario Brothers of course!! They actually looked really cute--they are super creative. I LOVE IT!!

here are Mario and a green YOSHI:

and then baby Bowser: (notice her sisters had darkened her eyebrows with mascara even!!)

I hope all of your weekends were as relaxing/fun/productive as you wanted them to be!! Bring on MONDAY!!!

2 Months Old!

As I suspected...two months with baby Paisley have gone so fast! She is ALL smiles right now, especially when she has a full tummy!! She will even give a little giggle if she is really happy. She will coo and "talk" when we talk to her in our soft baby voice. She is loving her swing more these days (thank goodness) but doesn't really like being on her tummy much (even though she can hold her head up pretty well). As for her physical features...her hair is definitely getting lighter but still brown and her eyes are still dark blue. Most people say she looks like Crosby but heck, I can't tell!! She is a roly poly for sure!!!--much unlike her sister. At her 2 month appointment (she had to get 3 shots in her little thighs--she did cry pretty hard and me, well a few tears, but not too bad!) she weighed 12 lbs 14oz...height 23 1/2. She started going to grammy's this week (since I had to go back to teaching after being off for 2 1/2 months). She went 2 days this week and did just fine. It is FREEZING cold right now so we are trying to keep her at home as much as possible and I want to thank Georgia and Anna for coming over to stay with her. It helped me a lot to know that my baby was nice and snuggly warm at home. The transition back to work is hard enough without the weather factor---SHEESH!! I am glad to be back to work to see my teacher friends and MOST of the students!!! If a mommy has to work---I'd say this is a pretty good occupation (though already looking forward to Spring Break!!) Paisley is starting to do new things everyday (like watch her sisters very intently when they talk to her), so this is a very exciting time. I think my favorite has to be that she will mimic me patting her back to burp her and actually make a patting motion herself. LOVE IT!!! Every moment... even the sleepless ones--- we made it all night last night 10pm-6am for the first time YAY!!!! so why am I still soo tired?? :)

Nicknames for her this month: Wunkles Curtis, Wunk-a-leez, Baby Peach, Princess Paisley Peach, Buggy, Leezy, Pais

More "As Seen on TV" Treasure!!

They're making a KILLING...I'm telling you... A KILLING selling absolute junk-o-la to people like us! We couldn't seem to get enough of the commercialized-gimmicky stuff this Christmas!!! When I saw this one at Walgreen's I just couldn't pass it up!! A Dog Snuggie!!! NO STINKIN WAY!! I was soooo pumped and immediately snagged it-originally for Bruiser, but "DUH, dc!" Doggie Snuggies come in different sizes (unlike the human one-size-fits only a giant version... contemplate that one!!). So it became Mosely's and it fits her like a fleece glove!!
And then there was Miss Chelo, who didn't give me ANY sort of a Christmas list til about a week before the big day when I was already finished shopping!!! So, with little to go on from her I had to get creative!! Every time she saw the commercial for Big Top Cupcake she would say "Mom, I want that!" So it was at Walgreen's in their As Seen on TV section where I found myself again!! (Also snagging 3 pink Kids Snuggies that my mom wanted to give to the girls!). Chel was so pumped when she opened it Christmas morning...YES!!! It is coming up with those gifts, especially the smaller ones, that make the recipient really happy that make gift-giving fun for me!!! So today we tackled the "Tie Dye" cupcake from the recipe book that was included. Who knew there were soo many ways to make GIANT cupcakes??? We divided white batter and mixed in some bright colors! It turned out to be really pretty and colorful!! I think the girls had the best time sitting and eating the leftover batter than anything!!! (which their Dad doesn't think is a good idea because of the raw egg, but I let them do it cause HEY, i'm still here after many years of batter eating!! In middle school Teresa's mom would always have cake mix so we would make one for a snack and eat it raw!! Gross or Good??? HMMM??? IDK! Both!)

Chelo pretending to take a bite of our Masterpiece!!

Crosby getting dangerously close to LICKING our cupcake!!

I think the week after Christmas is the best. No school, too cold to go outside, but TONS of fun new toys, games, and crafts to keep everyone having fun all week!! A mother's dream!! Bring on the snow cause we're not going ANYWHERE!!!!