SCRAPBOOK SUNDAY

Thanks for visiting me on Scrapbook Sunday again:) My sweet Holly and Katie have also posted a fun scrapbook page on her blog as well; click on her name to visit hers!

Today my pages are from the Pregnancy Album I did when I was pregnant with our youngest son, Gage. Yes, I am still sentimental seeing that he turns 2 in a couple weeks! Time has gone by waaaaay too quick with him:)

This is my Ultrasound page; I believe this ultrasound photo was from the time we found out we were having another boy. I am just mesmorized by ultrasound photos! Its crazy to be able to see their head, spine, little heart beating...etc.

Here is my belly at 6 months with him! I had a huge belly with both of my boys; and it still hasn't gone away- lol! I remember how good I felt in this pic, despite the yucky shots I had to give myself each day!

Here is my busting belly at 8 months! My best friend and mom threw me a small baby shower at our home; doesn't Gavin look so thrilled?? LOL

Oops, this pic should have went before the last one. I was 6 1/2 months along here and my sister in law Kelly was 8 months pregnant with her little boy, our nephew Aaron! I love this photo!

There's still time to join us for Scrapbook Sunday! Just leave me a comment that you posted and I'll add a link to you:)

Happy Sunday!
♥ Noelle ♥

FUN Friday!!

Hello out there! Sorry to be running late posting today; my sweet Holly was like "Where are you?" LOL Remember the Easter Swap for Kids that I mentioned before that was hosted by Shannon from Paint Mine Pink? Well, little Mr. Gage got his swap package today in the mail from his partner Miss Willow who is from Australia! How fun is that! Willow's mom Kylie is such a doll; check out her blog, A Bite of Country Cupcakes! Gage immediately loved his "mail" because Willow and Kylie put Wiggles stickers on the outside of it; Gage LOVES the Wiggles!!

Here is lil/ Mr's hands digging in to his loot!!

A cellophane carrot filled with jelly beans!!

He got a Wiggles book; look at the surprised look on his face!!

A chocolate Billby, which takes the place of a chocolate bunny in Australia at Easter time!! And his fave, a Hot Wheels car.

Willow and her mom hand painted this cute Kangaroo and Joey on a canvas for Gage's room; I love it!

This gold M&M egg was the most exciting thing for Gage! He grabbed it and squeezed it; then it burst open and M&M's flew all over the carpet!! LOL He quickly began picking them up and shoving them in his mouth!! I was stunned at how fast he was eating them that I didn't even take a pic!!!

Here is the after-math of the broken egg!!

He's making the "Ewwwwww..." face because of the lil green fuzzy chick they made shown below! For some reason, he doesn't like fuzzy things! What a goof!

Some cute little Easter crafts that the girls made too ♥

He also got a book and CD of color songs and some animals stamps!

Here is the Billby again and a Fact Sheet that they sent us to tell more about the story behind the Billby:)

Willow colored this sweet egg for Gage too; she's a great artist!!

He also got a pencil with a bunny topper too:)

This morning I went and got a massage! Oh, I needed it:) I also did some shopping all by MYSELF! It was wonderful too:> Gavin had a half day today and had one of his best buds over after school for a couple hours so that is why I posted late. I am going to dinner tonite for a good friend of mine's 30th Surprise Birthday party! It will be fun; she has NO clue either!!

Tomorrow Brian and I have to go to our "Pre-Marital Retreat"; its from 9am-3pm! Eeek; thats a long time! Hopefully we get something good from it; so I probably won't post tomorrow till evening time.

Happy Friday!

♥ Noelle ♥

I'm a Chipper Chick today... Yay ♥

Hey girls! I am back to feeling like my normal happy, goofy self! Thanks for all your compassion and words of encouragement yesterday:) It means a lot to me that you all take the time to read my blog and leave such kind comments! I got off my butt yesterday and exercised and drank NO POP!! It really helped me feel a lot better too ♥

Isn't this easter egg collage up top super cute? I will be preparing for my Easter Egg Blog Hunt this weekend and will announce the details on Monday; might I add that I have some REALLY cute prizes as well:) You will have to go back through my posts to find the "hidden" eggs; the first person to contact me with all the correct posting titles will win! This will be fun♥

Speaking of fun... my swap partner Katie from my self-hosted Easter Swap Egg-Stravaganza got her goods from me yesterday and posted pics today! I snatched a couple of them to share with you; visit Katie's Nesting Spot to see more:) I am THRILLED that she loved all that I sent her; that made my day too!

Here is the "Happy Spring" banner that I made for her, with a tad bit of help from Target! hehehe:) All the materials were to make this were in a package from Target and I assembled it; it was very similar to what I was wanting to make so I thought "Sure, why not!" Katie loved it and I'm glad she did cause I had a hard time parting with it too!!

Here are a couple of the Easter doo-dads I sent her as well! She loves yellow chicks and I fell in love with this lil chick cutie too:)

Doesn't it really brighten your day too when you are able to do something nice for someone and have them truly appreciate it? Well, I'm off to class here soon... so, have a wonderful day:)

♥ Noelle ♥

Ma'am?

No fancy picks today... I am feeling a bit crabby:( I went to bed late last night and of course, was up early. So today I will just ramble about a few things that are bugging me!!

What's buggin' me...

(1) I just turned 30 in December... which didn't really bother me; not feeling "old" yet but I keep getting called "Ma'am"! UGH! It drives me nuts!! LOL What age do you stop being a "Miss" and become a "Ma'am"? I feel like I could easily be called "Miss" for at least a couple more years...

(2) People... Why do some people need their as* kissed on a regular basis so that they feel "cared for, loved, or validated"? Yet, they don't take the time to see how you are doing, or act like they honestly "care" about how you are? Just a thought...

(3) This weather... Temps are supposed to drop today... again! After this gorgeous weather we have been having!! BOOOOOO!

(4) I don't like feeling crabby like this, but you know some times it just happens and you have to deal with it! Its better to vent, then to bottle it up inside! Right?

And my last rant...

(5) I HATE my body; cannot fit comfortable in pants without having the "muffin top" syndrome going on... YET... I still eat candy, drink pop... and so on! WHY don't I learn my lesson? I think I am going to start becoming a FITNESS PSYCHO today and do my Biggest Loser video everyday, then hop on the treadmill later on in the day. Maybe, just maybe by summer... I won't look preggers anymore? What do you think?

Ok, I feel better and hope I haven't scared any of my dear blogger friends away- LOL! Some people BLOG like their like is SOOOO PERFECT (none of my wonderful gals though, hehe) and really no one's life is that way. I love to read blogs about mom's who are being driven bonkers by their kids or hubby's, etc. It makes our blogging world more REAL, ya know?

Maybe I'll feel less grumpy after I exercise this morning!! Please, I hope I do!

Love ya bunches,
Noelle ♥

Signs of Spring and Some GREEN!

Happy St. Paddy's Day girls! This cute little garden flag is one that I have out in the front yard. I think its my only St. Paddy's decoration:)

I am wearing my green today so no one tries to pinch me; lol!

Here are a couple of my tiger lily's popping through! Yay! Is this a sign that spring is finally here to stay? My tiger lilies have sentimental value to me because they came from my grandma's garden; I think 5 years ago and each year they come in fuller and fuller! This August will be 5 years since she has passed away and I think it gets harder and harder each year:( I'm sad that I won't have her here in "body" for my wedding day, I know she would have been so proud! She has always loved my Brian so much and that meant the world to me! It saddens me that she has never met my baby Gage and that he won't be able to experience her in his life like Gavin was able too! She was the GREATEST!

This is ironic, these are my only daffodils in the yard; actually the only flower bulb thats left. We have major squirrel issues around here and those little devils eat every bulb that I plant so they last like one year. But these daffodils are fighters and are going strong on their 2nd year with me:)

This is my favorite watering can decoration; once it stays warm I will add a flower pot on the inside!

This cute little bunny sign came from GW for $1.00; I love the pastel colors!

This cute little bunny face hangs outside this year. My mom bought it for my grandma, then it became mine!

This little bunny "devil" blew off the flag pole a week or so ago when we had big winds!! Gavin found him in the neighbors bushes; thank goodness! He's too cute too lose!

What's this? Could it be a sneak peek into some lucky gals Easter swap package from me???? Hmmmmmmm? Wonder who's it could be? Katie? Holly? Guess you'll have to wait for the mailman to come!! Hehehe:)

Have a great day gals! I'm off to school:) Oh, good news... I got a high C on my last Math exam, actually thought I did a little better than that but hey, its better than a D or F, so I will rejoice for that!

xoxo,
Noelle ♥

Time to Chat:)

Today is Brian and I's 8 year anniversary! We have actually been together almost 9 years but we split up in the beginning for awhile years ago, back in 1999! I have a lovey-dovey tribute to him later on in this post!!

This beautiful applique was made by my friend Carolyn from Magpie-Pixie and... PURCHASED by ME! Oh, when I saw it I thought how cute it would looked framed in my living room next to my sage green shutter-pane mirror! She is such a crafty talented lady!! If you have not visited her blog or Etsy shop, please do!

Here is Carolyn's most recent creation, a Two-Chicks Vintage Easter Hanger!
It measures 6" x 7.25" and is for sale right NOW on her blog; all you have to pay is shipping!! AWESOME huh? Holly, I thought of you when I saw this 'cause I know you love blue! But then I remembered that Katie loves chicks so you two might have to
"duke it out" over this one, lol!!

Onto my lovey-dovey tribute to my future hubby who got on my nerves SO bad yesterday!!

Brian, you are an amazing "husband" to me and
a wonderful father to our 2 children.
I cannot believe how the years have flown by! We have stuck together through the thick and thin, good and bad and the UGLY (lol)!! We have a certain understanding of each other that I don't think anyone else shares with us! Sometimes we fight, bicker and nag but we always know how much we love each other! You are my best friend:) I can totally be myself around you and that's okay with you! I know that if I get too annoying, you'll send me to bed! Thank you for all you have given me; it IS your fault that I am soooo darn spoiled!! LOL I look forward to spending the rest of my life, loving and annoying the hell out of you!! I love you honey, forever and always!!! ♥

Brian and Gage, Christmas of 2007!

Brian and Gavin at his brothers wedding in June of 2008!

Brian and I at my first Notre Dame football game in Fall 2008.

Brian being a dork; one of the many reasons I love this guy:)

♥ My favorite of our engagement photos ♥

I love this collage because it represents so many sides of our personalities!

Thanks for sharing the LOVE with me today!

Hugs,
Noelle ♥

Its a bird, Its a plane... its SUPERMOM!

I am in my glory right now! I had an AMAZINGLY easy day with my 2 boys! And to top that off, they both were in bed by 8:30 pm- yahoo!

We had a little lunch date together today at Fridays; they both ate so well and behaved insanely good! So mommy treated them to dessert and only nibbled on some of the ice cream covered with cookie crumbles, caramel and hot fudge! I only did that because I ordered their Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad- OH MY, it was YUMMY! It was a bed of greens covered with chopped celery, candied pecans, dried cranberries, mandarin oranges, the pecan crusted chicken and a balsamic vinegarette dressing! I even ate the left-overs for dinner 'cause it was so good; and I am SO NOT a leftovers kind of gal!

After there we preceded to the grocery store to get a couple things, and I found a couple REALLY cute Easter items for my swap partner Katie!! So I am officially done with my swaps; except for the Semi-Slackers Spring Swap that is just starting. Just need to get to the post office tomorrow to mail all 4 packages off! 2 of them are heading to Australia for Gavin and Gage's Easter Swap partners! So, again NO Tantrums in the grocery store; 2 thumbs up for us!! hehehe
(Did I mention that they were both up around 8 am and Gage DID NOT get his usual nap today either?? I AM Good!! lol)

So we then went to a new park that we've never been to before and the boys had a BLAST!! Today was so beautiful! I hope it stays this way:)

We came home and I did some housework and filled a bag full of clothes, old shoes and "junk" to give to Goodwill; which means another coupon for me!!

All in all it was one of those days that a mom wishes would happen more often! Ever have one of those? Hey and I even got 2 posts in today!

Check in tomorrow for a SNEAK PEEK! And something so beautiful and unique that I purchased from a friend!

Night, night!
Noelle ♥