XY times 4

"Just Jack!"

2009-04-07T13:59:00.004-05:00

I'm in blogger mode these days. Yes, I'm sharing all old stuff, but I'm having fun going through all the old photos and videos. This is a video I'm sure everyone in the family has seen, but it is my all time favorite video of any of my kiddos, EVER! Jack is about 3 years old here, and he loved dancing to this music, which was featured in a Michelob Light commercial of all things. Well thanks to Tivo we were able to record the song and get video of him dancing to it. Yes this is in real time, and is not sped up at all. I think he got his Mama's moves.

Brothers

2009-04-04T11:05:00.006-05:00

I was looking through my old scrapbooks and came across this cherished photo. Aah, when life was simple, and I only had two kiddos....I honestly can't remember it. I'm sure I thought my life was stressful then. It wasn't until I had the twins that I actually learned to embrace the chaos, and be happy in it. Anyway, I do miss these little faces. They were so precious and cute and little. Everyone says they grow up too fast, and I can attest that it's not a cliche'.

The other side is just as wonderful though. They are asking advice from you. You can have the most wonderful and intellectual conversations with them. Yes, intellectual! And they even ask for hugs from you. I got a really nice warm one from Andrew just last night. It's all good.

Sisters Circle Journal

2009-03-30T10:40:00.028-05:00

Aack! I'm not very good at this blogging stuff. For one, I find my life incredibly ordinary, despite having four boys. Hell, the Duggar family has how many kids? My four are nothing. So I can't ever seem to come up with anything to write about that I think would be interesting to an outsider. I'm severely lacking the talents my sister possesses in her writing, as you can see here. Plus, I think I have a total audience of about 5, and that's being generous, so it seems like a lot of work for nothing.

Anyhow, the one talent I do seem to possess, that I always like sharing, is my gift for scrapbooking. My sis, Catherine, and I have been working on a Sisters Circle Journal for about 5 years now. Unfortunately we don't have much completed in it, because someone (me) gets the journal and holds onto it for about a year before doing her entries. If you have never heard of a Circle Journal, it is basically a scrapbook that is passed back and forth between various people and they each complete entries in it. Ours is just between us, and we each take turns coming up with a topic to do. Below you will see what we have done thus far, and hopefully you'll get a clearer picture of what it is all about.

I apologize in advance for some of the scans. Someone (Cat) likes to use very lumpy items on her pages and they won't lay flat in the scanner bed. I love her layouts though, so I'm not complaining. You can always click directly on a page if you need to see a larger version.

The Cover by Maryellen

Introduction by Maryellen

MBG by Maryellen

Cat by Catherine

Why I Love Having You For a Sister by ME

My Sister by Cat

My Kids by Cat

As you can see, when we started this book Cat only had two kids, and they were quite young to boot. We'll have to come up with a way to get William included in here at some point.

The Greene Team by ME

This one is actually kind of fun in that I put little card behind each photo that talks about how old my kiddos were at the time, and what their personalities were like. What's so cool is that even four years later their personalities haven't changed! Here's what I wrote for each one:

Andrew Carlson - Currently in 2nd Grade, Interests: Science, Math, Geography, Yu-Gi-Oh Cards & Gamecube. A very sensitive soul.
Jack Michael - Currently in Kindergarten, Interests: Everything his big brother does!, Even-tempered & kind. He loves to make you laugh.
Benjamin Fisk - Interests: Loves to sing & dance, read books & watch Dora the Explorer, Very emotional. Loves to give hugs & kisses.
Eli Loren - Interests: Enjoys getting into things & climbing onto places he shouldn't. Happy go-lucky & adventurous.

Home Sweet Home by ME

My Kind of Town by Cat

Catherine was living in Chicago when we started this book.

What I Like About Myself by Cat

Beautiful Me by ME

Sweet Feet by ME

I told Catherine that one should never post a photo of one's feet on the internet, but I love her response to my layout so much that I had to go there. So no comments from the Peanut Gallery about my awful dancer's feet!

Not-So-Sweet Feet by Cat

Lovely, huh. And no, these are not Catherine's toes.

What's In Your Purse by Cat

What's In My Bag by ME

Back Cover by ME

Well, I figure that this post was long enough to save me from having to blog for another three months. I'll post more of the book as we complete it....probably next year. :-) Catherine says we need to kick it up a notch with our topics, so if anyone has any idea how we can do that, please let me know. Just keep it at least R-rated.

Explore Your World

2009-01-12T11:49:00.003-06:00

After having seen the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," and then hearing of the death of a beautiful wife, mother and grandmother, my old neighbor Carol Hall, I'm feeling a little melancholy. I've been thinking a lot lately about my place in this world, just how short a time we have to explore it, and the overall magical beauty it has to offer us if we just seek it out. I'm thinking it's time I got the old hiking books back out and hit the trail, so to speak. There's still a lot I haven't seen.

Christmas Surprise

2008-12-22T02:02:00.006-06:00

So our Christmas present to the boys this year is a surprise trip to DisneyWorld. YEAH!!! I wasn't sure how to tell the boys about the trip, and I was also worried about the fact they wouldn't have too many gifts to open. So I came up with the idea of having them go on a Christmas Treasure Hunt to find out what their gift is. At the end of the hunt the last clue is going to tell them to click on an icon on the computer that will have the following video for them to view. I know it's long, and they will probably guess what the gift is before the end, but I just couldn't help myself!! It was so much fun making it, and it has totally gotten me in the Disney spirit! So if you love Disney, and all it's cheesy magic, take a little time to watch and tell me what you think.

Christmas is in the Air

2008-12-03T10:59:00.002-06:00

So I've been putting out all the Christmas decorations, and thought I should update the old blog as well. It just wouldn't do to keep the Thanksgiving decorations on here all the way through December. I'll try to post something new soon as well...Promise!

To Be a Mother

2008-11-27T00:02:00.002-06:00

So I am by no means a prolific viewer of The Family Guy, but this has to be one of my favorite scenes. If you don't have children, you probably won't understand. If you do, enjoy.

Cuddles

2008-11-24T12:00:00.001-06:00

This was a page I did in a scrapbook for Benjamin's Kindergarten class. They have a "Weekend" Bear that each student gets a chance to bring home. They have to do activities with the bear, and then document it in the book. Well, we took "Cuddles" to see High School Musical 3, and I think he really liked it. The bear danced the entire movie...seriously. If you know Benjamin you know how attached he gets to his animals, so he cried and cried the night before Cuddles had to go back to school. He's such a sweetie - broke his mother's heart.

Colorstology

2008-11-21T12:00:00.001-06:00

So I did this layout as part of an online challenge several years ago. There is a website called Colorstrology that basically uses some voodoo, mumbo-jumbo to tell you what your personal color is depending on the day you were born. This color also supposedly offers some insight into your personality. The idea behind the challenge was to go to the site, find your color and then do a scrapbook page about it. It is all a little too "hippie - free-spirited" for me, but bottom line is that I loved the way the page turned out. I was going for a very graphic, advertisement feel, and I think I achieved it. And if you want to, check out the website. Let me know what your color is and what it says about you.

Laundry Gathers Here

2008-11-18T12:00:00.005-06:00

So let's talk laundry. Clean or Dirty, I got plenty of it. Here's a photo of my laundry room:

Not bad you say. Well let's head on back into my labyrinth. This is a place so dark and so menacing that I never let anyone see it:

Oh wait, there's more:

I think these are clean.

As are these.

Oh wait what about these?

And these?

Oh...just some socks.

I'm pretty sure these are dirty. If not they'll need to be washed again.

And if you think that's it...

Wait for it...

Wait for it....

Wait for it...

Yep there's more. I had to blur this basket as it had too many of my unmentionables.

I defy anyone to claim they have as much laundry as me. (Except for the Duggars and Jon and Kate +8. They get a pass.) Honestly, this is only what was in my room. There are probably at least three more baskets, one in each boy's room. It is literally the bane of my existence. (YUCK, cliche.)

Red

2008-11-15T12:00:00.000-06:00

This one is for you Catherine.

Weight Loss, Goals & a Little Present for Myself

2008-11-11T14:00:00.000-06:00

So I'm not sure how many of you are aware that I am trying very hard these days to get down to a healthy weight. The pounds have really been not so much creeping up on me, but pouncing quite quickly lately, and I am not liking the way I am feeling. So I've once again joined Weight Watchers, since I was so successful on their program years ago, and I really feel like I have the determination and the will to do this. I've lost over 6 pounds so far, and I have a lot more to go, but I've decided that before I reach my goal I'm buying one of these for myself:

Isn't she cute! And yes it's a she.

I know I'm not going to be doing the MS150 anytime soon, and definitely not on this bike, but what I am going to do is plop my big butt down on that cushy seat, buy a basket for it and fill it with flowers, and cruise around the neighborhood, confident that I'm gonna stick to my plan, and knowing that I'm gonna be one hot mama in a few months. (Phew, that was quite a run on.) It's a nice image don't ya think. The hard part is going to be picking the color - pink, red, baby blue, orange, purple or green? What would you pick?

Perfect

2008-11-09T12:00:00.000-06:00

It's so hard to not keep posting photos of Benjamin & Eli. They are so yummy - I could just eat them up! Mmm, Mmm, Mmm.

Quite a Pair

2008-11-06T12:00:00.000-06:00

I'm seeing a trend here. The last few pages I've posted were in my white background/graphic design phase. The simpler the better. The title on this one says it all. Aren't they adorable!

Mean Jack Greene

2008-11-03T13:49:00.003-06:00

We were treated to a free photography session by Jack's Orthodontist after he got his braces taken off. The photographer takes photos of their patients to hang in their office as proof of their great work. Well, the photographer, Edgar, was just fabulous! Jack had a really fun time during his session, and Edgar took some really amazing shots of Jack. While I'm waiting for the other photos to come in, Edgar treated us to some postcards of this shot. Of course Jack will be smiling in the portrait at the Ortho's office, but I thought this one was pretty great. Edgar is using it on his website now, and he also ordered a huge canvas of this to display in his studio. It's suppose to be over 5 feet tall. So if you are in need of a great photographer I can't recommend any one more highly. I also have some coupons he gave me for 50% off a photo session and 25 free Christmas cards. You can click on the photo, or go here: www.edgarj.com to see more of his work.

Discover

2008-11-03T12:00:00.002-06:00

This was taken in 2005 when Eli was almost 3 years old. We went to spend the day at the beach in Galveston, and before I knew it, Eli walks up to me with this tiny fish in his hands. I don't know how he caught it, I assume it got washed up on shore and he just picked it up. He was so curious about it, and very proud of the fact that he had found it. This goes down as one of my absolute favorite photos of my kiddos.

What I Like About Me

2008-11-02T18:11:00.005-06:00

So I haven't put anything on my blog in a while, and I haven't posted any scrapbook pages in a very long while. So I though I'd post an older page just for fun. This is one I did for a circle journal I am doing with my sister Catherine. The basic idea is that I come up with a topic, do a page in the journal, pass it on to her and she does a page on the same topic. Then she comes up with the next topic and sends it back to me. It has progressed quite slowly, only because I haven't got my sorry butt in gear and done my pages. It always seems to sit at my house for about a year and then move on to her. She finishes her's up in a couple of weeks, and then it sits on my desk for another year, but I digress. This is one I did about myself, obviously. I really like it except for the fact I took the photos without any makeup on. I'm sort of regretting that now, as I can see the crow's feet around my eyes. Father Time shows no mercy.

(Once again, you can click on the page and it will enlarge enough that you can read the journaling, if that interests you.)

Kindergarten Fashion

2008-10-22T20:21:00.006-05:00

I've decided that it must be a wonderful feeling to be 5 years old. Nothing inhibits you from having fun, and dressing anyway you damn well please . Here are a few recent samplings:

The pink teddy bear ears say, "I'm not afraid to show my feminine side."

Watch out HFD! The boys (and girls) of Campbell Elementary are aiming for the centerfold pic in next year's calendar.

"Come on baby light my fire."

"Copy! We are in pursuit of the suspect! We are in pursuit!" Right after we strike a pose for our dear, dear Mother.

If you think these are priceless you should have seen the Dr. Seuss hat that ate Manhattan. I could kick myself for not getting a photo of that one.

Thank the Lord for Orthodontists!

2008-10-15T13:09:00.007-05:00

Jack got his braces off today, and can I just say WOW!, what a difference a year makes! (A comb made a big impact as well.) Here are some photos to see the transformation.

BEFORE (taken 8/23/2007):

WITH HIS BRACES (taken 10/15/2008):

AFTER (taken 10/15/08):

The boy is really going to charm some girls one day don't ya think!

I've said such wonderful things about our orthodontist's office before, the staff is just one of the happiest I've ever seen, and everything always runs on time and smoothly. I never had to wait - never. What they did today was really awesome as well. Everyone that came in today was having their braces taken off, so they had a big Halloween party with all the staff in costumes, cake, brownies, and drinks. They had the whole office decked out as well. But my favorite part was at the end they gave each patient a goodie bag filled with bubble gum, Now & Laters, microwave popcorn, caramels - everything they couldn't have while they had braces. All the way home Jack kept saying that gum had never tasted soo good!

It's Gonna Make You Smile

2008-10-12T20:56:00.005-05:00

I promise it will....

I was reminiscing through old photos and came across this video of Benjamin and Eli when they were only 19 months old. I had totally forgotten how they would be napping and after they awoke I would walk in on this:

Oh my goodness they are adorable! I wish I could go back and squeeze those fat little cheeks and kiss those pudgy little toes. Hug your babies Mamas, because they sure do grow up fast!

A Night for Celebrations

2008-10-08T14:03:00.015-05:00

This past weekend the family all got together to celebrate 5 different occasions, yes 5. Our gang is getting so large that we can't possibly celebrate them all separately, otherwise we'd be camped out together 24/7. Uncle Pat suggested that we all go in together and purchase a compound in South America, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea. Here's a little recipe for an evening of fun:

It all starts on October 4, 1968.

Then you set the mood...

Throw in a houseful of guests.

Add about 1 million gifts.

Don't forget a pinch of football.

Stir in four sweaty little boys...

and one preteen.

Add one birthday princess.

Two birthday cakes and three "...and Many More's."

And finally you'll want to top it all off with a good dose of political argument.

Cook for 40 years.

A-R 101

2008-10-05T17:47:00.003-05:00

This is what happens when your mother gets ahold of your Social Studies project.

Happy Birthday Andrew!

2008-10-04T13:00:00.007-05:00

He wears the sames shoe size as his mother.

He takes a shower every morning and uses deodorant.

He can babysit his brothers and I know he'll be responsible.

He wanted to go out for a nice dinner for his birthday, rather than have a big party.

When did my little boy grow up?

Happy Days

2008-04-24T13:58:00.001-05:00

This is good stuff! Click on the photo if you want to read the journaling.

I Love You 2

2008-04-24T13:49:00.001-05:00

Love the shirt, love the kid, and I loved doing this page. The colors just make me happy. And for those of you who cannot tell, this is Benjamin.

Just a Cool Photo of Andrew

2008-04-22T17:35:00.004-05:00

I haven't ever finished this layout. I can't seem to come up with a title for it without dipping into the old cliche' "Just Do It." I guess sometimes those cliche's work, but I ain't going there. Anyway, I just think this is a fantastic photo of Andrew at one of his swim meets last summer. I love my camera! And the kid isn't too shabby either.

Merry & Bright

2008-03-10T08:52:00.001-05:00

Okay one more post for the day and then I have to get back to work. Now I know that Christmas was almost 3 months ago, but I have just gotten around to doing something with those photos. I couldn't resist posting this one because they are such cutey-patooties. Oh they are going to make me old before my time I tell ya...the little devils.

Matanzas Creek

2008-03-10T08:47:00.001-05:00

This was our absolute favorite wine and winery in Sonoma. As soon as you stepped outside the car the scent of lavender just smacked you in the face...Gorgeous! Inside we were treated to a tasting from Ira. He was an absolute gem! I mean look at him - Scott said his eyebrows had lives of their own. How could we not love him? The wine was absolutely superb. We enjoyed everyone that we tried, although our favorite was the 2005 Sonoma Valley Chardonnay. We bought a bottle and got toasted in the parking lot afterwards. We've been absolutely delighted to since find out that Randalls carries that very Chardonnay. So if you ever get a chance to pick up a bottle, you really should give it a try.

The Trojan Horse Inn

2008-03-10T08:28:00.001-05:00

Our digs in Sonoma. A very lovely Inn that reminded me of my Granny's home in the Heights...creaky floor boards, antique furniture, and it even smelled like her home.

Sonoma

2008-03-10T07:56:00.003-05:00

So I'm just getting around to posting some photos of our trip to Sonoma this past fall. Scott and I had a wonderful time and a wonderful experience. Who knew we would become such wine lovers. I mean we loved wine before our trip...now we are a bit more discerning. The countryside was just gorgeous, and we could not have had better weather. And the food - WOW! I hadn't eaten that well consecutively ever.

Ode to Joy

2007-12-19T14:07:00.001-06:00

Jack had a winter piano recital last week, and he did a terrific job. I was so proud! He played a beautiful rendition of "Ode to Joy," followed by a cute song titled "My Skateboard." He seems to have a natural love and talent for music. Way to go Jack!

4th Fun

2007-07-11T13:24:00.001-05:00

This one is a little departure for me, as it is full of "stuff." I'm sure many scrappers would still consider it simple, but for me it is quite busy. I like the way it turned out though...quite festive.

Jack & Ben are in Da House!

2007-07-11T11:16:00.001-05:00

Ummm 'kay. Like I really know how to speak like a homey. I'm really showing how lame I am.

Made With Love

2007-06-18T10:33:00.001-05:00

This photo was taken last year right before William's Baptism. I always try to get the boys' photo whenever they are all dressed up. I actually scrapped this photo once before, but never really liked it. The beauty of digital is that it's very easy to start over.

Just Thought I Needed a Photo of Eli

2007-06-15T16:25:00.000-05:00

Isn't She Lovely!

2007-06-14T14:46:00.001-05:00

I finally have a Rebel! EEE!! Can you tell I'm excited. The man in brown delivered her this afternoon. I'm waiting for the batteries to charge and then I'm gonna have some fun. Here are the specs: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT (a.k.a. 350D) 8.0 Megapixel, SLR, (Black) with Canon 17-85mm EF-S IS USM Lens & a Crumpler 5 Million Dollar Home Camera Bag in red, of course.

A Happy Day

2007-06-12T20:17:00.001-05:00

Went to Galveston this Sunday with Nana & Boppa. Everyone had a great time playing in the water, hunting for hermit crabs, & flying the kite. Stopped for seafood & Blue Bell ice cream on the way out of town. Definitely fits the definition of a happy day.

Laughter

2007-06-06T21:42:00.000-05:00

This is a little somethin' I whipped up today with my new Shabby Princess "Happy Trails" kit. LOVE her stuff! Anyway, this is a photo Scott took of Benjamin at the Field Day festivities a few weeks ago.

Mine

2007-06-06T21:09:00.000-05:00

Scott will probably hate me for publishing this, but I think it is a really great photo of him. Our friend Alicia took it this New Year's when we rented a beach house together with three other families. Of course I conveniently cropped myself out. :)

Determination

2007-06-06T17:57:00.000-05:00

Jack in his Flag Football uniform. Go Vikings!

Cutie

2007-06-06T17:49:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, the title of this site is Boys Rule, but a girl needs to surround herself with flowers and pretty pink colors every now and then. I couldn't resist this photo of Abby either.

Happiness

2007-05-21T16:44:00.000-05:00

This was a photo taken in December 2002. I was trying to get a serious photo of Andrew and Jack for our Christmas cards that year. I finally got one, but this has actually turned out to be my favorite.